Beginning Again
by My Quiet Riot
Summary: After everything came crashing down, things are slowly starting to look up again. With little Halia Grace in the picture now, Mal and Natara get a new chance to begin again. Sequel to 'Crashing In'. Rated 'T' for mild language, sensuality, and violence.
1. Chapter 1: Six Months Later

**Hello again, lovelies! As promised, this is the sequel to _Crashing In. _I decided to title it _Beginning Again_, as it is kind of like a new start for Mal and Nat, with Halia and all. This story should still make sense if you haven't read _Crashing In _yet, but you'll miss the back story and references to prior things that happened. So if you haven't read it yet and have some time, read that before you start this one. C:**

**These are the review replies from the last chapter of _Crashing In_. Thank you so much for all of your support for my writing! It means a lot! C:**

_**HopelessRomantic1994 ~ Thank you so much, Jade! I'm really glad you liked it, and the name. I spent more time researching what to name her, than I did actually writing the chapter, haha. Again, thanks so much!**_

_**mozzi-girl ~ Thanks for all the support, Molly; you're awesome!**_

_**DizzyRedhead ~ Thank you! I'm a bit sad to see it end, too, but I have a lot planned for the sequel. C: Thanks again, Hazel! **_

_**Helen (Guest) ~ Oh my goodness, thank you soooo much! That's so sweet. I'm glad you liked it, and I hope you like the sequel, too. Again, thank you so much, Helen; that means a lot! **_

_**Emmyrox2011 ~ Thank you so much, and thanks for reading!**_

_**CauseOfDeathLover13 ~ Thanks so much! I really appreciate all your support. I'm glad you liked it. (:**_

******So yeah, enjoy, and please tell me what you think! C:**

* * *

Chapter One – Six Months Later

I was awakened sometime during the ungodly hours of the night by the sound of a high-pitched crying. Mal and I's six-month-old daughter, Halia Grace, had apparently awakened and decided to fuss. I groaned and rolled over, and a couple seconds later, Mal groggily murmured something unintelligible.

"You want me to get her, or should I?" Mal slurred tiredly.

"I'll get her," I muttered, reluctantly pulling myself out of bed. "But it's your turn next time."

"Mkay," Mal sighed, immediately falling back asleep. I sighed and pulled a sweatshirt and sweatpants on over my minimal sleeping attire. I glanced at the clock, reading glowing numbers that revealed it was nearly two in the morning. I rubbed my eyes to force them into focus, then walked down the hall to Halia's room. She was in her crib, still screeching away. I reached over and turned on the pink lamp on the bedside table. The dim light softly illuminated the pastel-pink walls. I reached down into the crib and picked her up. I gently cradled her in an attempt to calm her down.

"Shh," I quietly soothed, "Mommy's here, it's okay." I sat down in the rocking chair by her crib and rhythmically rocked back and forth. Her cries subsided a little, but not much. When she still wouldn't calm down after a couple minutes, I started to softly sing a lullaby that I'd sang to Maddie to help her fall asleep.

"Hush little baby, don't say a word," I sang lightly, "Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird." Her crying abated slightly, so I continued to sing.

"And if that mockingbird won't sing, Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring." I proceeded to softly sing the rest of the short lullaby, and Halia's cries turned to occasional whimpers, before eventually relenting all-together. Soon enough she was asleep again, but I lingered there, rocking her back and forth, for several minutes after I knew she was asleep. I finally stood and gently placed Halia back in her crib, before slowly turning and closing the door behind me.

I trudged back down the hallway to our bedroom and gratefully climbed back into bed. I fell asleep within minutes.

* * *

I woke up again that morning, and was alarmed to see it was already after the time I was supposed to get up. The radio was playing, and I realized Mal and I had both slept through our alarms by nearly thirty-five minutes. I quickly sat up and looked over at Mal, who was still fast asleep with a pillow over his head. The July sunshine shone clearly through Halia had woken up three more times throughout the night; Mal got up twice, and I got up once more. Neither of us had gotten more than a couple hours of straight-sleep.

"Mal," I murmured urgently, gently shaking him awake. "We're half an hour late, get up!" Mal and I had to go to work today, and our babysitter would be here in less than half an hour. We didn't both go into work at the same time on a regular basis; but at the time, we were working a high-priority case, and Anders needed us both present. Mal started awake and abruptly sat up.

"Ah, hell," he muttered, immediately sliding out of bed.

"You shower first, and I'll go get Halia ready," I suggested.

"Alright," he said quickly, briefly kissing me on the forehead before turning to go and shower. I smiled at him, then went down the hall to Halia's room. She was awake once again, but she wasn't fussing. I gently picked her up from her crib and began to dress her. She giggled and smiled at me as I lightly tickled her stomach. Soon enough, I had her dressed in a pink outfit, her favorite stuffed cat in her hand. As much as I hated cats, she seemed to like them. By the time I brought Halia out, Mal was finished showering and already preparing breakfast.

"Go ahead and get ready," Mal said, taking Halia from me. "I'll feed her breakfast."

"Thanks," I replied with a smile.

I took a quick, five-minute shower and quickly got dressed in my work attire. I applied my minimal make-up then blow-dried my hair. I emerged fully ready from the bedroom just as the doorbell rang, almost as if on queue. I quickly went to get it while Mal finished up feeding Halia.

"Hey, Amber," I greeted with a smile, stepping aside to let her in. Amber was seventeen, and she lived a couple blocks over from us. Mal and I had met her and her parents during a case we had a couple years back. Amber's younger sister had been kidnapped in the middle of the night; thankfully, we were able to bring her back in one piece. We had asked Amber to babysit Maddie quite a few times, too. It originated when I saw her taking a jog while I was out getting the mail. Mal and I had to go to work that day, too, and lacked a babysitter, as our usual one had to work. I recognized her and asked if she would watch Maddie for the day. She happily agreed, and was back at our house in a half an hour, showered and ready to go. When our usual sitter graduated high school and went off to college across the country, we made Amber our primary sitter. She was very mature for her age, and she was really great with kids. Maddie loved her, and it seemed like Halia did, too.

"Good morning," she greeted back, flashing me a smile as she walked in. She flipped her long, blonde hair over her shoulder as she shoved her keys into her purse.

"Mal is just finishing giving Halia her breakfast, but there are two other bottles of formula in the fridge, just in case we don't get back until around dinner time. Just grab something from the cupboard or fridge if you get hungry." Amber nodded and followed me to the kitchen where she greeted Mal with a smile.

"Morning, Amber," he addressed with a friendly smile.

"Hi, Mal," she replied back. She set her purse down on the kitchen counter, then accepted Halia from Mal.

"Hey there," she cooed gently with a smile, lightly tickling her in the side. Halia giggled and smiled at Amber. I smiled at them both, then turned to Mal.

"We should get going," I advised, "We'll barely make it in time." Mal nodded and grabbed his keys from the counter, leaving out the garage door to go start the car. I quickly followed after him, stopping only to grab my purse and a mug of coffee Mal had made me. I said a quick 'see you later' to Amber before shutting the door behind me.


	2. Chapter 2: Just Kids

**Hello! So here is Chapter Two; hopefully you liked the first chapter. This sequel probably won't be as long as _Crashing In__, _but I write as I go, so who knows. C: Thank you guys so much for the reviews! Here are review replies; skip over them if you don't care to read them:**

**_HopelessRomantic1994__ ~ Thank you, Jade! I'm glad you like it so far._  
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**_Brunette Dream ~ Thanks, 'Bonnie'! Glad you liked _Crashing In_, too. ^_^  
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**_DizzyRedhead ~ Thank you! So am I; I didn't want them all sad and mopey for this one. They'll be a bit sad at some points, but not full-on bawling, haha. Thanks again!  
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**_CauseOfDeathLover13 ~ Thank you, Lexi! Thanks for the review!  
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**_mozzi-girl ~ Yayyy, thank you, Molly! :D  
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**_Crimson Endings ~ Thanks a ton, Tori! I'll try to update this one more frequently than _Crashing In_, I promise! xD  
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**_Sweet Revenge Princess ~ Thank you so much! I'm really glad you liked the last one, too. Of course I'll continue; I love writing. It's my outlet. I literally cannot stop. XD Thanks again for the nice review! (:  
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**_MALTARA2010 ~ Thank you, April! I'm glad you liked it, sad as it was. Hope you enjoy this one, too! Thanks again!  
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**__If you haven't noticed, I like to call you guys by your names. If I don't know it or you don't sign your name at the end of the reviews, I go to your profile and look. XD If I didn't use your name, I don't know it. Tell me if you'd like; I feel like usage of names is more personal. C:**

**Anyways, enough of my rambling; enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Two – Just Kids

Eighteen minutes later, with exactly two minutes to spare, Mal and I arrived at the precinct. We calmly walked in, each of us trying to cool a hot mug of coffee.

"Morning," Jeremy and Blaise acknowledged as we walked in.

"Morning," we both replied with tired waves. We went into our office, leaving the door open behind us. We each sat down at our own desks, reluctantly pulling out stacks of paper work and beginning to read them over. An hour of paper work and bad jokes later, Anders walked in with a case file enclosed in a manilla folder.

"Good morning, Fallons," Anders said, dropping the manilla folder on Mal's already-cluttered desk.

"Good morning, Captain," Mal and I both greeted respectfully.

"New case?" Mal questioned.

"Yes," Anders answered grimly. "I really hate to assign this one to you two because of... past events; but you're my two best detectives, and we need this guy behind bars."

I stood and walked over to Mal's desk as Mal opened the case file. I bit my lip to hold in a gasp, eyes widening in disbelief. I exchanged a horrified glance with Mal before picking up the pictures to further examine them.

"Oh my God..." I murmured in shock. The picture in my hand was a gory mess of young teenaged bodies. From what I could tell, at least nine or ten bodies lay lifeless on the floor of what looked to be a long hallway.

"The victims were just ID'ed," Anders continued as he shuffled through the case file and pulled out a stack of victim ID pages. He handed them to me and I briefly flipped through them, counting the number of pages.

"Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen... seventeen," I finished, counting the last several numbers out loud.

"Seventeen what?" Mal questioned, not looking up from scrutinizing the case report.

"Seventeen victims," I answered somberly. Mal's head shot up and his horrified gaze met mine.

"Good Lord," was all he said.

I flipped through the ID pages again, slower this time, observing each one. I first glanced at all of their ages, saddened to find that the oldest one was barely eighteen. I gently prodded Mal and handed him the papers, pointing at the date of birth header. He flipped through them and let out a doleful sigh.

"Dammit," he muttered again. "They were just..." His voice trailed off, and he met my gaze again.

"... Kids," we finished in unison. We held each other's desolate gaze for a couple seconds before simultaneously looking away.

"They were students in a criminal psychology class at a rather large public high school," Anders reported as I set the ID pages down.

"Criminal psychology? _Really_?" Mal exclaimed with disgust.

"Criminal psy- ... That is just _sick_," I spat angrily, "And I don't mean 'sick' as in the cool, modern, synonymous to 'awesome' way."

"I agree," Anders proceeded with forced calamity. "Which is why you two need to get this guy behind bars, pronto."

"You've got our word," Mal said, speaking for us. "Can we get down to the crime scene right now?"

"Thank you, detectives; and yes, you may head down now. The address is written on the front of the folder." Anders nodded at both of us before turning and walking out. I flipped the folder closed so I could see the address. I pulled out my phone and keyed address into the built-in GPS and hit 'go', revealing that the school was called North Beach High, and it was about twenty-five minutes away from the precinct.

"Alright," I concluded, gathering up the papers and shoving them back into their places. "Let's roll." Mal nodded and grabbed his car keys, holding the door open for me as we exited our office. I gave him a quick thank-you peck on the cheek, then swiftly proceeded to the door. I stepped outside and immediately met the stifling heat of San Francisco's July. I got in the passenger's seat of Mal's car and he started driving, quickly flipping the air conditioner on. I read off the directions from my phone as he drove down the streets, and soon enough, we arrived at North Beach Highschool. Mal and I both got out of the car and met each other around the front. We started up the walk way of the huge high school campus, shuffling through the case file papers as we walked.

"Good afternoon," a county officer greeted. He looked to be in his late-thirties. "You must be the detectives?" he presumed.

"We are," I confirmed as I approached him.

"I'm detective Mal Fallon," Mal started, reaching out to shake the officer's hand, "And this is my FBI partner, Special Agent Natara Williams. Nice to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you," I said with a polite smile and handshake.

"Nice to meet you two as well," the man said. "I am Officer Delmae. I assume you two already have the case file and such?"

"Yes, we've briefly reviewed it already," I replied, holding up the manilla folder.

"Good," Officer Delmae said, "Then I'll just show you to the actual crime scene and let you detectives do your thing."

"Thank you," we said as he led us up the wide steps and inside one of the multiple sets of double doors. He turned down several hallways, up a flight of stairs, and down another hallway until we came to a rather horrific scene.

"Ah, hell," I heared Mal gasp to himself.

"Oh my God," I breathed, flinching at the gore. Though I had already seen a picture, it was always more shocking to see the victims in person. In front of Mal and I, the previously-white linoleum floor was spattered with blood. Sprawled on the floor were the bloodied bodies of seventeen teenagers. Textbooks, notes, pencils and pens littered the floor, scattered in a frenzied mess.

"When did this happen?" I asked Delmae in alarm.

"Just this morning," he replied sadly, "At about eight-o-clock."

"Damn," Mal said again, glancing at his phone as he pulled it out. "That was less than an hour ago."

"All of the remaining students and faculty have been evacuated and are now off campus, but if you need to talk to anyone, I can retrieve the information to call them up."

"Thanks. Any idea of possible suspects?" I asked him.

"Not yet," Delmae replied. "We just sent a few things back to your lab technician, though, so hopefully something useful will come up soon."

"Let's hope," Mal uttered darkly.

"I'll leave you two to do your work, but I'll be just outside that window," he said, pointing to a window in the classroom next to us.

"Thank you, officer," Mal said gratefully.

"We'll let you know," I added. Delmae nodded with a slight smile and walked back down the hallway.

"Holy. Fricking. Hell," Mal stated once Delmae was out of ear-shot.

"I know," I said shakily, looking around in silent horror at all of the lifeless bodies surrounding us. It was literally all I could do not to think of another shooting, less than a year ago, which took the life of Mal and I's first daughter, Madison. I couldn't bring myself to physically go to the scene, but it wasn't hard to imagine with all the other things I'd seen in the field.

"Well," Mal started after a few seconds of silence, "Let's get to work." He stepped forward, and knelt beside the body of a young teenaged girl. He began to examine in it, when he realized I hadn't followed him.

"Come on, Natara, let's get to-" He stopped short when he turned and saw the terrified expression on my face that I didn't even try to hide. His gaze softened and he stood again, crossing the several feet between us in a second's time. The professional mask momentarily flickered away as he looked at me.

"Hey," he said gently, guessing my thoughts. He lightly touched my arm before continuing. "C'mon. Just try not to think about it for now, okay? The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get out of this terror zone. Professional now, personal later." I nodded and inhaled shakily. He reached up and tucked several strands of hair behind my ear, locking his gaze with mine for several seconds. He dropped his hand and gaze a moment later, turning to continue on. I took a deep breath before following, forcing my brain into professional mode.

We both knelt next to the same girl, moving aside several pages of notes that had landed on top of her.

"Bullet wound in her shoulder and stomach," I observed. Mal nodded and we stood to move on to the next one. This one was also a young girl, looking to be no older than seventeen. She was lying on her stomach, a clear bullet hole through her back, just between the shoulder blades. I slipped the tan-colored bag off of her shoulder and dug around for her ID. Mal gently turned her over as I pulled out her wallet. I slipped her driver's license and student ID from their compartments, glancing at the name and date of birth.

"Savannah Sunderland," I read aloud. "Seventeen years old, class of twenty-fourteen." I set her license and ID down beside her, and Mal and I moved on. We approached a young boy next, also lying on his stomach with a bullet wound through his back. Mal pulled a student ID from the boy's pocket, glancing at it before handing it to me.

"Aiden Lisdon," Mal read. "Eighteen, senior." I nodded and set it down again as we moved to the next one.

We slowly covered sixteen of them, leaving one who was slumped against the wall around the corner of the hallway. It looked like she had tried to run, and had almost succeeded, before she was shot several times. I gingerly turned her on her back, wincing slightly at the massive bullet hold through her neck.

"Oh, God," Mal muttered, leaning in to examine it. I pulled the girl's brown and purple-streaked hair away from where it was beginning to dry over the wound. Another shot had impacted her in the thigh, in which the killer probably missed and proceeded to shoot her through the throat.

"Madisen Brookes," Mal announced with hesitation. "She was only fifteen..." Mal met my gaze, and I could feel my professional demeanor beginning to slip. Her name was spelled differently, but a stinging reminder nonetheless.

"Let's move on," I said finally, breaking the human silence between us. I stood and turned away from Madisen's body, turning down the original hallway again. I walked into the psychology classroom, briefly glancing around at the bags, notebooks, and binders that were strewn around, clearly abandoned in a crazed hysteria. I assumed most, if not all of them would have a license or student ID with them, but I didn't want to look. They were already ID'ed; there was no use wasting further time. Mal walked in behind me just as I noticed several binders with bullet holes through them. I went over and picked them up, seeing that the bullet went straight through all the papers inside it. Several desks were turned over with bullets through them, obviously used as shields against the deadly weapon.

Just as I was about to walk across the room to the teacher's desk, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I quickly pulled it out and answered a call from Anders.

"Hello, sir?" I said into the receiver.

"Special Agent," he greeted briefly. "I just received word that the entire campus was put on lock down immediately following the shooting. Unless the killer exited quickly, he might still be in the school. Get him if he is, Agent, but be careful."

"Thanks, Captain. I'll pass that onto Mal, too."

"The entire campus was put under lock down promptly after the shooting occurred," I related to Mal. "He may still be in here, unless he found some quick means of escape."

"Oh man," Mal sighed. "Armed?" he checked.

"Yep," I replied, slipping my gun from its holster. Mal unholstered his, too, and held it loosely in his right hand. I followed suit as we both walked out the door, keeping on guard for any suspicious behavior. Mal and I paced down several hallways, already lost as to where the hell we were within the large campus. We were about to go down the stairs onto the first level, when we heard it.

A loud gunshot followed by a young girl's high-pitched scream. Mal and I exchanged a quick, frantic glance before breaking into a run in the direction of the gunshot.


	3. Chapter 3: Breathe

**Hey, Deathicated! Here is Chapter Three of _Beginning Again_. I'd just like to take a moment to appreciate the wonderful-ness of the NA episode. [insert the moment] ... Okay, here are the review replies:**

**_Sweet Revenge Princess__ ~ Oh my gosh, thank you so much, Kizzy! That means a lot, I'm glad you like it! I LOVE YOU TOO. _  
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**_Crimson Endings ~ Thank you, Tori! I'm glad you like it. I do love my cliffhangers. (;  
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**_NiekaWow ~ Thanks, Nieka! It's fine!  
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**_DizzyRedhead ~ Thank you, Hazel! I'm glad it's engaging!  
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**_HopelessRomantic1994 ~ Thanks a ton, Jade! I hope you continue to enjoy it. :D  
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**_mozzi-girl ~ Hehe, thank you! I do have a thing for cliffhangers, you know... (; Thanks again, Molly!  
_**

**Whelp, without further ado... Chapter Three! Enjoy, and please review!**

* * *

Chapter Three - Breathe

Mal and I sprinted around the corner in the direction we heard the gunshot. It sounded fairly close, so Mal and I both cocked our guns, ready to shoot if needed. As we turned another corner, a flash of black fabric turned the corner ahead of us. I sped up and Mal followed, running as fast as we could without sliding all over the polished linoleum.

"Hurry," Mal gasped, lengthening his strides to run just ahead of me. Mal and I slid around another corner, now gaining on the man running from us. He was in admittedly decent shape, given the duration of the run; but nevertheless, we were still gaining on him.

"S.F.P.D.!" I called out, though I knew it was useless. "Stop right now!" There was no way in hell that guy was stopping, whether I told him to or not. We were approaching the end of a hallway, the only escape being several closed doors. The man ahead of us frantically tried one. Upon finding it locked, he ran to the next, threw it open, and disappeared inside, slamming the door behind him. I heard the click of the door as he locked it, and Mal and I skidded to a stop.

"Move away from the door!" I shouted as I clicked a bullet into the chamber, squeezing the trigger and firing a shot into the lock. It burst apart and the door flew open, allowing Mal and I easy passage. We raced in after him to find a large classroom with no doors or openable windows. He was in there somewhere, and he was armed. Mal and I slowly moved around, watching each other's backs as we slowly circled the room, guns drawn. I heard a sudden crash, and looked up in time to see a world globe crash to the ground, separating from its stand and rolling off to the side. The man suddenly popped up and zipped past us, shoving desks and chairs over to block our path as he ran for the door. Mal and I leaped over the falling desks and chairs, moving quick to catch up. I clicked another bullet into the chamber and fired a warning shot a few feet above his head. He suddenly turned around and shot, and I quickly dove behind a fallen desk. I heard the bullet impact the desk. He shot another one off, and Mal ducked to the side just in time, narrowly missing a bullet being embedded in his skull.

"Hey, stop!" Mal yelled out, also firing a warning shot to the side as he jumped up from cover. The man yelped and raced out the door, and we raced after, trying to keep on his tail. The man turned the corner we had originally come down, turning around familiar hallways, then twisting down more unknown ones. As we turned another corner, I glanced down to see a teenage girl slumped against the wall, sobbing hysterically. Fresh blood pooled around a bullet wound in her calf. Mal and I both slowed, shifting our gazes desperately between the girl and the man who was now rapidly getting away. The girl needed help, but if Mal and I both stayed, the man would escape without a doubt.

"Go," I commanded Mal. "I'll help her, you get that guy." Mal nodded and quickened his pace, again sprinting full-speed after him. I turned back to look at Mal once more before directing my attention to the girl on the floor. I crouched down beside her, pulling out my radio and calling for immediate back-up. She was still crying hysterically, clutching her leg and desperately looking up at me through a tangled mess of blonde hair. I bent over for a couple seconds, trying to catch my breath.

"My name's Natara," I finally said in a gentle tone, "And I'm going to help you, but you need to calm down. What's your name?"

"Anabelle," she choked out, still clutching her bleeding calf.

"Okay, Annabelle, you need to focus on breathing. You need to stay calm, or your body is going to go into shock. Just breathe, alright? I called for help." She nodded through an entanglement of hair and terrified tears, breathing in and out several times. I looked around for something I could give her to drink, and quickly spotted a pop machine several yards away. I went and picked up my purse, which I had flung to the side the first time down that hallway. I fished a couple bucks out of it, hurrying to the pop machine and buying a bottled water. I crouched down beside her again and handed it to her. Her hands shook, and she couldn't seem to get it open. She grunted in frustration, producing flustered tears and beginning to work herself up again. I quickly took it from her and cracked the seal, opening it and handing it back.

"Thanks," she rasped, taking a long drink from the bottle. She swallowed and set it down beside her, collapsing against the wall. Suddenly, something dawned on me. If everyone was supposedly evacuated... why was she still in here?

"What were you doing in here?" I asked. "Everyone was forced off campus."

"I... I don't know. I was just walking down the hall, and I heard gunshots and screaming, so I ran into a room and hid... and I... I didn't know everyone left... And then I just peeked outside the room to see what was happening, and I saw this guy with a gun, and he saw me, and I screamed, and... I had a panic attack or something and he shot me, and... and... oh, I don't know, I don't remember... I..." She concluded her run-on sentence by bursting into tears again. _Okay_, I thought. _No more intense questioning for now_.

"Annabelle, you need to calm down. Just take some deep breaths, alright? You're okay." She nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her blood-stained hands.

"Take another drink," I continued, handing her the bottle again. "You _need_ to calm down; you're going to hyperventilate." She nodded again, taking another sip from the bottle. She took another shaky breath, straightening against the wall.

"Wait..." I started, another thought dawning on me. "If this happened with the rest of the shootings, and the shootings were over an hour ago... how long have been injured and sitting here?" She paused for a moment before shakily reaching for her phone that had landed beside her.

"Like forty minutes," she replied flatly.

"Oh, God," I groaned, whipping out my radio again. _Where the hell is my damn back-up?_ I thought urgently to myself.

"This is Special Agent Natara Williams again," I repeated into the radio, "And I need an EMT and back-up, _now_. There's a girl who's been sitting here for over half an hour. Copy?" I released the talk button and waited a few moments. Hearing nothing but loud static, I repeated my request.

"Natara," a familiar female voice replied. "Jeremy and I are on our way, where are you?" I urgently looked around.

"Somewhere in the school," I answered helplessly. Helpful, I know. "This place is huge, I have no idea where-"

"We're in the northern corner of the science wing," Annabelle interjected.

"Northern corner of the science wing," I repeated to Blaise.

"On it," Blaise replied. "We're about fifteen minutes away, plus the time it will take to get in there." I suppressed a frustrated sigh.

"Alright," I said back, fighting off impatience. "Just get here as soon as you can." I hooked the radio back on my belt, again directing my attention to Annabelle. I reminded her to keep breathing, as it looked like she was working herself up again.

Just as I thought she was finally calmed down, I heard several sets of pounding footsteps advancing towards us.

"Dammit," I cursed quietly. We were sitting ducks in the middle of the hallway like this.

"Natara?" Mal called out, sounding urgent and out of breath. Damn, he was _still_ running.

"Mal?" I called back frantically.

"Natara, _run_!" he yelled as I heard the running footsteps further approach.

"Dammit!" I cursed again, louder than the last time. I looked down at Annabelle, who looked on the verge of another panic episode.

"I'm going to have to carry you," I concluded quickly. She didn't look like she weighed that much, so I bent down and gingerly picked her up, bridal-style.

"_Run_, Nat! Now!" Mal commanded as he turned the corner and came into view. The man running was still slightly ahead of him, but him and the other two officers were gaining on him. Seeing as there was really no other place to go, I turned and ran away from them. I briefly turned back to see the man cock his gun, his finger poised over the trigger. I ducked behind the pop machine a split-second before I heard a gunshot ring out, bursting the side of the machine open. Various colored liquids spilled every where, and he slipped slightly, allowing me time to get away. He fired a second time, and I ducked behind a row of lockers, narrowly missing slamming Annabelle right into the side of them. He fired a third time, and I felt an explosion of pain in my left arm as the bullet grazed my arm.

"Ahhh!" I yelled, biting my lip against the pain.

"Natara!" I heard Mal call out. Warm, red liquid began gushing from the wound. I didn't feel much after the initial impact, because adrenaline was taking over; for now, my only goal was to get us out of there alive. Annabelle screamed in my arms and abruptly covered her face with her hands. From the way she was shaking, I guessed she was crying again; which really wasn't helping me keep a good grip on her. There was no use telling her to calm down, though, because my own heart was racing inside of my chest. Hell, she could probably feel it.

I heard a click from behind me as he prepared to send another bullet my way. Just as I heard him pull the trigger, I dove into the door of the stairwell.

"Shut the door!" Mal yelled urgently.

"But Mal-" I protested, not wanting to trap them with the armed man.

"Just do it, Nat, trust me! Shut the door!" With a shaky 'okay', I slammed the door shut just as the man ran around the corner, turning the lock to seal him out. Though we were relatively safe in the stairwell, I wasn't taking any chances. I continued running down the stairs to the main level. I saw a set of double doors leading to outside just down the hall, so I ran for it. Right before I got to the door, I turned slightly, slamming my hip into it to open it. As I burst out into the warm July air, I was met with utter silence. I assumed we hadn't exited anywhere close to where they were expecting, as I didn't even see any evidence of other police. With the adrenaline beginning to fade, my arms were beginning to burn and the grazing in my shoulder started to hurt like hell. I stumbled over to the green grass and carefully set her down, wincing as I felt something in my arm tear.

"Oh my God, oh my God... oh my _God_," she kept repeating. I whipped out my radio, pressing the talk button and rapidly speaking into it.

"Blaise, Jeremy, this is Natara. We got out of the building, but we need help."

"Are either of you hurt?" Blaise's voice called back a couple seconds later.

"The girl's got a nasty bullet wound in her calf," I stated.

"What about you?" Jeremy questioned.

"Just a graze on my arm, I'm fine," I said. "Just get her an EMT, pronto!"

"Okay," Jeremy continued. "Where are you?" I looked down at Annabelle again, hoping for some aid in location.

"Eastern end, door nine," she gasped between sobs.

"Eastern end, door nine," I repeated, "And hurry, she's on the verge of hyperventilating."

"Copy that, we'll be there shortly."

I returned the radio to its spot again, collapsing to a sitting position on the grass. My arm burned, but I tried to ignore it and focus on Annabelle, who looked like she was about to knock herself out.

"Annabelle," I said sternly. "You need to breathe. EMT's are on their way, as well as other police. You're going to be okay, just keep as calm as you can. Alright?"

"Okay," she managed, fighting to inhale and exhale. I gently helped her sit up against the brick wall of the school, willing myself not to slump down beside her. Several minutes later, I saw a police car approaching. Jeremy and Blaise hopped out, followed by an EMT with an ambulance.

"Are you both-" one of them started.

"No, just her," I interjected quickly. "She needs to get to the hospital." The EMT's nodded and quickly picked Annabelle up. They gently set her on a stretcher, wheeling her inside the ambulance and closing the door. As it drove away, Jeremy and Blaise ran up to me.

"Are you okay?" Jeremy questioned, slightly out of breath.

"I'm fine," I lied, ignoring the throbbing pain in my upper arm. "But Mal and the others are still inside."

As if on queue, a door about twenty-five yards away burst open, and Mal emerged, pushing a cuffed man ahead of him. Two other officers followed on either side, keeping a close watch on the handcuffed man. I breathed a sigh of relief which I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Mal shoved him into the back of a police cab, and the two other officers hopped in, driving away with the man yelling profanities at Mal and the other officers. Mal stood alone panting for a few seconds before he looked up and saw me. Relief flooded his demeanor as he started up to me, breaking into a light jog to meet me.

"Thank God you're okay," he breathed with relief. He scooped me up in a strong hug, but quickly pulled away when I yelped in pain, my shoulder throbbing.

"Oh my God, you need to go to the hospital," he added. For once in my life, I didn't argue this point.

"Okay," I agreed. I suddenly noticed a wound in his right shoulder, as well as blood trickling from what looked to be fingernail scratches on his cheek.

"So do you," I quickly exclaimed. I gently pulled his hand toward me, looking at the bullet wound that was oozing blood.

"I know," he sighed. "Let's go." Mal was about to get into his police car and drive to the hospital, when Blaise and Jeremy stopped us.

"There's no way in hell you're driving," Blaise stated. "You both look like you're about to pass out. Get in the back."

Mal and I, too tired to argue for once, obeyed and slid into the back of the car.


	4. Chapter 4: Long Day

**Hello again! I know this was a quick update, but ah well. C: I also just realized that I referred to Natara as "Agent Williams" in my previous chapter, even though her and Mal are married in this. My apologies, but I am far too lazy to fix it. ^_^ Review replies:**

**_Sweet Revenge Princess__ ~ Yes, you are indeed the first! Thank you so much, your reviews always make my day! The beanbag part made me laugh, haha. Thanks again, Kizzy!_  
**

**_DizzyRedhead ~ Thanks for the review, Hazel! I do that, too, don't worry! I usually forget what I write about ten seconds after I hit 'post review'... XD Thanks again!  
_**

**_mozzi-girl ~ Weeee, thanks, Molly!  
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**_NiekaWow ~ Thank youuuuu, Nieka! You're awesome!  
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**_Guest (Helen) ~ Thank you, Helen! (:_**

**Well, I'll let you get to reading now... (: Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Four - Long Day

The black fabric of my work blazer had been half-cut, half-torn away, and I sat with my injured shoulder exposed. I bit my lip against the painful stinging of the antiseptic the nurse was applying on my grazed wound. She looked several years younger than me, once again, and had her brown hair tied back in the same bun as my labor nurse. But at least she wasn't calling me 'sweetie'.

"Sorry," she apologized almost sheepishly. "I'm just about done."

"It's fine," I muttered through gritted teeth. "Something tells me that infection would hurt a hell of a lot worse." She laughed nervously, gently patting another round of antiseptic onto the open gash. It didn't sting as much this time, so I assumed she was doing her job at least somewhat-well.

Beside me, I could visibly see Mal wince as antiseptic was applied to his wound, too. I glanced over at him and he met my gaze. He offered a small smile, and I smiled back. He again winced as the other nurse pressed a cloth damp with some form of rubbing alcohol. I smirked at him, and he glared at me, feigning an annoyed eye roll. I bit back a laugh and turned my attention back to the nurse who was now wrapping gauze and a bandage over my arm. She secured it with several long pieces of medical tape, then stepped back.

"There ya' go," the young nurse concluded. "You're done."

"Thank you," I chimed, sliding off of the table. A few minutes later, Mal's nurse stepped back, too.

"Alright, you're done, too," Mal's nurse, a red-head, said. She discarded the used gauze, then pulled off the surgical latex gloves.

"Thanks," Mal replied, sliding off as well and standing beside me.

I pulled my white t-shirt, which had somehow been spared from blood, over my head and carefully over my bandaged arm. I discarded the torn and bloodied blazer; I had about ten more of those things.

"You two should be good to go, then," the red-head stated. Mal and I thanked them again, then turned to go. We were almost out the door, when the brunette one spoke again.

"Oh," she started, and Mal and I both turned. "And thanks for your work out there," she finished. Mal and I both smiled.

"No problem," Mal started.

"Just doing our job," I finished. Both nurses flashed us broad smiles as we turned again, exiting the room. We met Blaise and Jeremy in the waiting room, and they both stood to meet us.

"You guys alright?" Blaise asked, glancing at the gauze bandages wrapped around each of our arms.

"Yeah, we're good," Mal answered for both of us.

"Good," Blaise responded with a rare concerned authenticity. "Jeremy and I are going back to the precinct for another couple hours, but you two should get some rest. See you tomorrow." Mal and I waved goodbye as they turned and left.

Suddenly, I heard Mal's phone vibrate in his pocket. It's a wonder it had survived after that day.

"Hello?" Mal said as he answered. I moved closer so I could hear the other end of the conversation.

"Hello, detective?" Anders' voice rang from the other line.

"That's me," Mal verified.

"I take it you and Agent Williams are doing well, then?" Anders presumed.

"Yes," Mal confirmed. "We're both fine, just minor wounds. We just finished up at the hospital."

"Good, good," Anders murmured, seemingly more to himself than Mal.

"We'll be back at the precinct as soon as-" Mal started.

"Oh no," Anders interjected quickly. "You and Special Agent will take an early evening. Go get something to eat and relax for tonight; spend some time with your daughter. You've both had a long day." Mal nodded, even though Anders couldn't see it.

"Thank you, Captain," Mal said with a hint of relief in his voice.

"Of course. You and Natara have a good night." Mal thanked the Captain again and hung up.

"Let's go home," Mal announced to me tiredly as he slid his phone back in his pocket.

"Sounds good," I agreed with an exhausted sigh. "Let me just call Amber really quick and let her know we're on our way." Mal nodded and sat down on one of the waiting benches. I sat down beside him and dialed Amber's cell number. After a couple rings, I heard her pick up.

"Hello?" Amber called. I could hear Halia giggling in the background. I smiled at the sound of my daughter's laughter echoing through the receiver.

"Hey," I greeted. "We're on our way home right now. We'll be back in twenty."

"Sounds good," Amber replied. I suddenly realized how hungry I was as I heard my stomach growl. I glanced at the clock on the wall which revealed it was almost dinner time.

"Have you or Halia eaten anything yet?"

"I'm about to feed Halia the second formula right now," Amber stated. I heard Halia whine in the background, clearly as hungry as I was.

"How about you?" I persisted.

"Uh, no, I haven't. I'm allergic to gluten, and uh, most of your food has gluten in it. I'm fine, though; I'll eat when I get home."

"We'll pick you something up," I concluded, glancing at Mal. He nodded.

"No, really, I'm fi-"

"Please, it's the least we could do."

"Well, okay," she agreed after a moment's hesitation. "Thank you," she added.

"Of course. We'll be there soon."

"Okay, see you then!" We said goodbye and I hung up, returning the phone to my pocket.

"I'm starving," Mal announced before I could say anything.

"My thoughts exactly," I laughed. "I told Amber we'd pick her something up. She's apparently allergic to gluten and hasn't eaten yet."

"Didn't know that," Mal said, a bit surprised. "No wonder she never eats at our house."

"Chinese?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"You know me," I laughed.

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

Twenty-five minutes later, Mal and I walked into our house with three steaming cartons of Chinese.

"Hey," Amber greeted when she heard us walk in. She looked up at us and her eyes widened.

"Whoa," she exclaimed as I felt her eyes drift to the bandages covering our arms. "What happened" I exchanged a glance with Mal.

"Er, never mind. I probably don't wanna know."

"No, you probably don't," I said with a nervous laugh.

I took Halia from her and placed her in the 'jumpy seat' by the table, smiling at her as she squealed in joy, beginning to play with the attached brightly-colored plastic toys. I pulled the Chinese cartons from the bag and handed Amber the one with the red 'Gluten-free!' sticker on it.

"Thank you," she said with a smile as I handed her a fork. I smiled back and sat down across from Mal.

"How was she today?" Mal asked after swallowing another bite of chicken.

"Good," Amber answered after taking a sip of water. "She didn't fuss at all."

"Ah, good, she's getting used to you now." Amber laughed politely and continued eating, somehow finishing before Mal.

"Well, you were hungry," Mal commented with a laugh. Amber made a nervous laugh and blushed sheepishly, awkwardly fiddling with the cap of her water bottle.

"Mal," I scolded lightly, furrowing my brow at him.

"What?" he asked, looking legitimately confused. _Men_, I thought with exasperation.

"It's fine," she laughed, recovering quickly.

"Well," Amber started after a few seconds of awkward silence. "I should probably get home. Thank you for the food, though," she added with a genuine smile.

"You're welcome," I said. Mal reached for his wallet and pulled out a couple twenty-dollar bills, extending them to Amber. She glanced down and tried to hide her surprise.

"I, uh, are you sure?" she asked hesitantly. Mal raised a brow, clearly surprised.

"Of course," he said with a laugh. "We don't have you sit around and watch our kid all day for nothing."

"Heh, alright," she laughed, uncomfortably accepting the bills. She quickly pocketed them and grabbed her purse from the table.

Mal and I stood and walked her to the door.

"Well, thanks again," she smiled as she pulled out her keys.

"Of course, thank _you_," Mal and I said. She smiled again before turning and walking out the door, gently shutting it behind her. I watched from the curtain as she slowly backed out of the drive way and turned back down to her street. Once she was out of sight, I turned to face Mal.

"Well, she was acting... weird," I concluded, lacking a better word.

"Yeah, she was," Mal said, sensing the same things I did.

"I'm sure it's nothing, though," I continued quickly. "Maybe she just wasn't feeling well."

"Yeah, probably," Mal said like he didn't quite believe me. I didn't quite believe myself, either, but I quickly forgot about my concerns when my daughter squealed at something she was playing with. Mal and I both turned and smiled as we watched our daughter delightedly playing with some rattle-type thing. Not wanting to disturb her, we simply sat and watched, talking to her in that odd voice everyone adapts whilst speaking to a young child. Around seven pm, she began to look tired; so Mal gently picked her up and went to change her for bed. After Halia was down (at least for the time being), Mal and I took turns carefully showering, doing our best to avoid getting the bandages wet. Once dressed in comfortable bed attire, Mal and I both collapsed into our bed, exhausted from the long, tiring day.

"I. Am. Exhausted," Mal declared, sinking back against the pillow.

"So am I," I groaned, rolling over to face him. He rolled over, too, and we each propped ourselves up on our good arm. The only light in the room came from the two lamps on either side of the bed. His face was illuminated by the dim light, and I felt the light on mine, too.

"Nice job out there today," Mal complimented sincerely. "I wouldn't have been able to deal with that frantic girl."

"Thanks," I laughed, accepting the slightly-off compliment. "She was just scared out of her brains, that's all."

"With good reason," Mal added.

"Yes, definitely with good reason..." I trailed off, and my gaze shifted downwards.

"Hey, about earlier," Mal started, gaining my attention. "You were thinking about Madi, weren't you," Mal said as more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah," I sighed, not bothering to lie. "I was."

"So was I," he admitted.

"At times like that, it's just so hard to separate your personal life from your professional job."

"I know," Mal sighed. "All you can really do is do your best on the case to prevent it happening again. That's really the only part in our control."

"Yeah, I guess," I murmured. "And that one girl's name..."

"I know," Mal said in an almost-inaudible whisper, clearly remembering who I was talking about. We sat in silence for several moments, before I rolled over again and sighed.

"Let's get some sleep while we can," I advised. "Before Halia's natural alarm clock wakes us up again." Mal laughed and rolled over, too, agreeing as we both reached up and turned off our lamps. Exhausted from the day, we were asleep within minutes.


	5. Chapter 5: A Message From Kai

**Hello, Deathicated! Here is Chapter Five for y'all. C: Just in case you want to keep an eye open... I'm going to be writing a Valentines Day Maltara fanfiction, probably a one-shot. I'm not sure what the CoD team is going to do in-game, but just in case, I'm writing my own Maltara Valentines Day. C: Anyways... Review replies:**

**_Sweet Revenge Princess__ ~ Thank you so much, Kizzy! Your reviews always make me smile. Oh, and this story has something to ask you... "Whale you marry me?" ... See what I did there? Eh? Eh? ... Anyways, thank you so much! :D_  
**

**_HopelessRomantic1994 ~ Thanks a ton! Guess you'll just have to keep an eye on Amber, then... (: Thanks again, Jade!  
_**

**_NiekaWow ~ Hmm, I don't know! Guess you'll have to keep reading. (; Thank you! By the way, do you prefer Nieka or Danieka? Anyways, thanks again!  
_**

**_mozzi-girl ~ Thank you, Molly! I love Halia, too. :D  
_**

**_The Beautiful Filth ~ I don't much like him either, haha. xD I just realized that; it was more of a lapse of concentration than anything. Nothing in the story occurred; I just have the memory of a goldfish and totally forgot about that part. XD Oh well. Thank you so much, though! :D_**

**Once again, a huge THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of you. Enjoy chapter five!**

* * *

Chapter Five – A Message From Kai

Once again, Mal and I were awakened in the middle of the night to our daughter screaming at the top of her lungs. Mal and I simultaneously groaned loudly.

"Your turn," I grumbled, not even opening my eyes.

"Nope, your turn," he argued back.

"Mal, please," I begged.

"Nope," he uttered stubbornly.

"How about we both get up?" I reasoned, tiredly blinking to semi-alertness and rolling over on my side to face Mal. He was silent for a moment before finally complying.

"Ugh, fine," he muttered. "But if she wakes up again, you're getting up by yourself."

"Fine then, Mister-Grumpy-Pants," I mumbled back. I rolled over to the other side of the bed and flipped on the lamp, blinking to force my eyes to get used to the light.

"I'm not wearing pants," Mal reminded me. I glanced over at him as he blinked against the light, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Funny," I retorted. I reluctantly got out of bed and pulled on sweatpants and a sweatshirt, and Mal did the same. We both trudged down the hallway to Halia's room, who was still wailing away. Mal reached down into the crib and gently picked her up, softly cooing unintelligible words to her in an attempt to quiet her down. After several minutes of no success, he sighed and handed her to me.

"Here, you try," he muttered lightly. I took her in my arms, alternating between patting her back and rocking her back and forth. When she didn't quiet down after another couple minutes, I began to gently hum. This usually did the trick, but she seemed to be especially fussy tonight. I handed her back to Mal, and we began to sing the same lullaby we always sang to her, alternating between lines.

"Hush, little baby, don't say a word. Daddy's gonna buy you a mockingbird," Mal softly sang. "And if that mockingbird won't sing, daddy's gonna buy you a diamond ring."

"And if that diamond ring turns brass," I continued, "Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass." She was beginning to quiet down now, so we continued, hoping she'd fall asleep again.

"And if that looking glass gets broke, daddy's gonna buy you a billy goat."

"And if that billy goat don't pull, mama's gonna buy you a cart and bull."

"And if that cart and bull turn over, daddy's gonna buy you a dog named Rover." By now, Halia was almost asleep. Her eyelids had fluttered shut, and her breathing began to slow to a normal rate.

"And if that dog named Rover won't bark, mama's gonna buy you a horse and cart."

"And if that horse and cart fall down," Mal started.

"You'll still be the sweetest baby in town," I finished. I glanced up at Mal, exchanging a smile with him before he went and set her back down in the crib. We made our way back to our bedroom and climbed back into bed, easily giving in to the pull of sleep.

* * *

_"Talk, talk is cheap; give me a word you can keep. 'Cause I'm halfway gone and I'm on my way, and I'm feelin', feelin', feelin' this way..."_

I started awake to the sound of the song 'Halfway Gone' by Lifehouse. I shot up in bed and looked around, momentarily confused until I saw Mal startle awake and reach blindly for his phone. He fumbled around for a couple seconds before coming to.

"Hello?" he answered, forcing a friendly tone just in case it was one of our superiors. I silently wondered who it was, as Mal and I both had the day off.

"Maligator!" came an all-too-familiar voice from the other line. Mal groaned loudly, flopping back down against the pillow.

"You'd better have a damn good reason to be calling me at seven in the morning when I don't have to get up," he growled. I moved closer to him so I could hear Kai's side of the 'conversation.

"Guess what today is?" he asked excitedly, ignoring Mal's warning.

"Um, July fourteenth?" Mal muttered, glancing at the calendar on the wall across from us.

"Nope!" Kai nearly shouted. "Well, yes, but that's not what I meant. Guess again!"

"I don't know, but it's apparently not let-Mal-sleep-so-he-doesn't-kill-you day," Mal snapped, clearly agitated.

"Guess!" Kai demanded, again ignoring Mal's threat.

"I don't know, Kai. If you don't hurry up, I'm going to hang up and throw this phone across the room."

"Fine, I'll tell you," Kai grumbled. "Just take out all the fun, why don't ya'." Mal waited expectantly as Kai drew in a dramatic breath, apparently already over his annoyance.

"It's National Nude Day!" I bit my lip to keep from bursting out laughing as Mal groaned again.

"_That's_ what you called for?" Mal exclaimed, now pissed off.

"Yep!" Kai chimed, oblivious to Mal's anger. "So I expect to see you and Agent Hotstuff at–"

"Screw you, Kai; screw you very much." He hung up, slamming the phone down on the bedside table.

"Ugh!" he groaned. I burst out laughing, releasing what I'd been suppressing for most of the phone call. Mal glared at me with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, come on," I coaxed playfully. "You have to admit, that was _sort of_ funny."

"Nope," Mal muttered stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest. He made the mistake of meeting my humored gaze, and his face broke into a smile, too.

"Okay, so maybe it was _a little _funny. Like, three-percent funny. But the other ninety-seven was extremely agitating." I laughed, relaxing back down against the pillows. I was planning on going back to sleep, but found myself suddenly wide awake.

"Well, I'm surprisingly not tired anymore," Mal announced, a bit annoyed.

"Me neither," I laughed. "Well... I guess we should get up."

"Yeah, I suppose. Thanks, Kai," Mal muttered. He acted annoyed, but his smile gave him away.

"So, what do you want to do with our day off?" I asked suddenly. Mal thought for a moment, then an idea seemed to come to him.

"How about we just walk around town and do some things that normal people do? You know, when they're not chasing serial killers or being held at gun-point," he added jokingly. I rolled my eyes and laughed, but the prospect sounded nice. I couldn't remember the last time I had spent the whole day out of the house, just doing normal things.

"That actually sounds strangely... relaxing," I commented. Mal nodded; it was decided. We eventually climbed out of bed and took turns showering. As I got ready, Mal graciously offered to feed Halia.

"Thanks," I said as I handed Halia to him.

"No problem," he replied. As I turned around to finish getting ready, I heard my phone vibrate on the bedside table it had rested on. I quickly went over to grab it, and slid it unlocked as a new text message popped up.

(**1**) new text from **Kai Kalaba**  
Sent on **7/14/2016** at **8:09 am**  
'_Hey, Agent Boom Bottie, look how I decorated Nigel for Nude Day!_'

Attached to the text was a picture of the interior of Kai's van, Nigel. Taped to the windows, ceiling, and pretty much every other open space, were suggestive pictures of random women. I couldn't see many of them very well, due to the thankfully low-quality of the photo; from what I could tell, though none of them were clothed farther than your typical undergarments. I rolled my eyes in exasperation, doubling back to show the text to Mal.

"Look what our favorite lab technician sent me," I said sarcastically. Mal leaned over to look at it, almost doing a double-take on it.

"I... can't decide if that's funny, or extremely disturbing," he finally admitted.

"I'm pretty sure it's both, but mainly just disturbing," I laughed. Though it was sort of funny, I wasn't going to give Kai the satisfaction of knowing that. I quickly shot back a reply.

New text message to **Kai Kalaba  
**'_If it weren't for the fact that there is always a very, very small percentage that you could actually be contacting me for a valid emergency, your number would have been blocked about five years ago._'

My phone buzzed again ten minutes later as I was finishing with my make-up. The sudden noise that the phone made vibrating against the counter startled me, causing me to stab the mascara wand I was using into my eye. Scowling, I did my best to dry my eye without smearing black all over the place. I picked up the phone again, reading another text from Kai.

(**1**) new text from **Kai Kalaba  
**Sent on **7/14/2016** at **8:19 am**  
_'__But I met you five years and one week ago!_'

That was so not worth poking myself in the eye.

New text message to **Kai Kalaba**  
_'__Exactly. And I'm not even going to ask why you kept track of that._'

I silenced my texting and calling tones for Kai, then slid my phone into the pocket of my jeans. It was nice not having to wear work clothes during the day for once; those black blazers really did get old.

I emerged from the bedroom to find Mal trying to entertain Halia with a bear-shaped rattle. She didn't seem impressed, though, and stared at it with a puzzled expression on her little face. I laughed, and Mal turned around.

"You entertain her," he grumbled, pretending to be bothered by this. "She's clearly not amused by this... thing."

"It's a bear-shaped rattle, Mal." I picked the thing up, trying to remember where it came from. Probably from a relative of mine whom I hadn't seen since _I _was a kid.

"It's not even cute," I added matter-of-factly. Mal chuckled as I tossed the rattle aside.

"We might as well get going, anyways," Mal said as he stood up. I went into the kitchen and grabbed Halia's diaper bag, adding in several containers of baby-mush for Halia. I silently wondered how the hell babies got that stuff down; it looked disgusting. I put the baby food in a thermal bag with an ice pack to keep it cold, then shoved that into the side of the diaper bag. I slung the bag and my purse over my shoulder, then returned to Mal in the living room.

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

**I hope that wasn't too boring for you guys; I kind of bored myself whilst writing it. ._. Oh, and in case anybody is wondering... yes, July 14th really is National Nude Day. Apparently these are the things I look up when I have writer's block...  
**

**Anyways, please review and tell me what you think, even if it was really boring! xD**


	6. Chapter 6: Day Off

**Hi, guys! Another fairly-quick update, but I wanted to squeeze one more chapter in before I do my Valentines Maltara one-shot. C: Depending on how much homework I have, I will have it published either tomorrow, or on Valentines Day. C: Also, I have no idea what the heck is wrong with the underlining, if that was bothering anyone. I can't get it to underline where I want it. D: Anyways... Review replies:**

_**Long Live**** Oblivion ~ Thank you so much, Kizzy! Your reviews are so sweet; they literally always make my day! I love Nigel as well; I ship Kaigel. C: I'm glad I brightened your day! Whatever they were, stay positive! (: Thanks again, you're awesome!**_

_**NiekaWow ~ I'll just stick with 'Nieka', then. Thank you! (:**_

_**DizzyRedhead ~ Thank you! Haha, really? I didn't know that. XD Thanks again, Hazel!**_

_**The Beautiful Filth ~ Heheheh, thank you, Christie! I'm glad you found that funny; I wanted to make it more humorous. XD Thanks again!**_

_**mozzi-girl ~ I didn't know that until I looked up 'holidays in July' on Google. XD Thanks, Molly! I'm glad you like it so far! :D**_

**Anyways, thank you so much for all the reviews, guys! It means a lot! Here is chapter six; enjoy, and I'd love some feedback. C:**

* * *

Chapter Six - Day Off

An hour later, Mal and I were walking around downtown San Francisco, rolling Halia around in the same pink stroller we had used years ago with Madi. We had just finished up in a baby department store, picking out several new outfits for Halia. She had started to outgrow some of her newborn clothes, and needed a few new things. We were then headed to a toy store to pick up a different toy to replace that horrid bear-shaped rattle. She was starting the teething phase, where she would put anything and everything in her mouth and chew it with toothless gums; we figured a few toys meant specifically for teething would be a good investment.

"How about this one?" Mal offered, holding out a teething toy shaped like... a sloth?

"Mal... it's shaped like a sloth," I stated, unimpressed.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious; I can see that," he teased. He held it out to Halia and waved it in front of her. Ignoring the toy, she stared soundlessly up at Mal with her fingers in her mouth.

"I'll take that as a no," Mal muttered, turning around and putting it back on the shelf before reaching for something else.

"This?" he asked, again holding out a toy. It was shaped like a cat, and he probably only picked it up to irritate me.

"It's a cat," I said. "And no smart comments, mister."

"Aw, you're no fun," he whined with mock-annoyance. He again held it out to Halia, and she immediately reached for it. Mal handed it to her, and she abruptly stuck it in her mouth.

"See? She likes it!" Mal chimed. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Mal! Don't let her gnaw on it all day, we haven't paid for that yet," I scolded. Mal shrugged dismally, ignoring my rebuke as he turned to the shelf again. I sighed in exasperation, turning away and defiantly plucking a horseshoe-shaped teether from the shelf. A mahogany-colored horse was attached to the curved part.

"This looks better," I commented, turning around and showing it to him. He eyed it, then furrowed his brow in mock-disgust.

"Ew, it's a horse," he joked. I rolled my eyes again and lightly punched him in the shoulder, but couldn't help the smile creeping onto my face. I turned away to hide it, offering the toy to Halia. She excitedly took it as well, sticking both the horseshoe and the sloth in her mouth.

"She likes the horse, too," I added mockingly, smirking at Mal as he rolled his eyes at me.

"Yeah, whatever. Are we almost done here?" he asked. "I'm hungry."

"Typical," I said with a laugh. I rolled Halia up to the cash register with Mal following close behind.

"Hi," the teenaged cashier greeted with a smile, tapping her register on. "Did you two find everything alright?"

"Yes, thank you," I said, smiling back.

Mal tried to take the toys from Halia's mouth so we could pay for them, but she screeched a loud warning, trying to turn away to protect her teething objects. After several attempts, Mal sighed and looked at me for help.

"Ugh, you're helpless," I muttered good-naturedly to Mal as I bent down and gently took the horse one, doing my best to wipe the saliva onto her blanket. The cashier did her best to hide the expression on her face when she noticed the toy near-dripping with saliva.

"Sorry," I apologized.

"She was kind of excited," Mal added.

"Oh, it's fine!" the girl reassured with a light laugh. She hesitantly took the toy from me, holding it by the corner and quickly scanning it before handing it back to me. I gave it back to Halia, and Mal took the sloth-shaped one, briefly wiping it off on Halia's blanket before handing it to the girl. She repeated the same procedure, still attempting to politely hide her disgust.

"Your total comes to twenty-seven dollars and thirteen cents," she concluded, clicking buttons on the cash register. Mal handed her his credit card, patiently waiting as the girl slid it through the card scanner.

"Sign on the line there, please," she continued, motioning towards the machine with a plastic pen attached. Mal sloppily signed it and completed the transaction.

"Here's your receipt," she stated, handing Mal a slip of paper as I took the stroller again, handing the sloth back to Halia. "Have a nice day!"

"Thanks, you too!" I said, feeling a little bad for making her handle my daughter's slobbery merchandise. Once we were out of the store, Mal laughed.

"Did you see her face?" he chuckled. "That was great."

"Mal," I scolded, "That was gross, we just made her handle saliva-filled toys."

"Yes," he laughed. "That's why it's funny." I rolled my eyes but laughed despite myself. Alright, so maybe it was a _little_ funny.

"Okay, fine, it was _kind of _funny," I admitted.

"There ya' go," Mal goaded with a smile. "Now let's go find somewhere to eat; I'm starving."

"Okay, okay, keep your pants on," I laughed.

"If we were in our bedroom instead of downtown San Francisco, I would have commented on that," he said suggestively. I playfully slapped him on the arm, feigning irritation as I sped up, propelling the stroller forward. Mal easily caught up, keeping pace with me.

"Seriously though," he continued a few seconds later. "I'm hungry. Let's eat something." I laughed as we crossed the street, approaching a row of restaurants, both fast-food and sit-down.

"How about Italian?" Mal asked. I glanced up at the sign of an Olive Garden restaurant.

"Sounds good," I agreed, just then noticing how empty my stomach actually was. Mal held the door open as I wheeled Halia in, and soon enough, we were seated at a table with Halia in a booster chair and the stroller folded up beside us.

"Ciao! Welcome to the-a Olive Garden!" an overly-peppy male waiter greeted. He had a thick Italian accent, despite the fact that he was very clearly not of Italian descent. His skin was pale and his hair was a natural tint of red. "Can I-a get you two anything to drink for-a now?"

"Just an iced tea, please," I requested.

"Coke sounds good for me," Mal added, stifling a surprised laugh.

"Wonderful! I shall-a get-a those for you and be back shortly."

"Thank you!" I said politely.

"Mal, you're horrible," I laughed once the waiter was out of earshot.

"Oh, come on; you can't tell me that didn't amuse you at least a _little_ bit," he coaxed with a smile. "The man is clearly Caucasian."

"Fine, whatever," I laughed with an eye roll, pulling a couple small jars of baby food from the bag. Mal and I resolved to glancing over the menu, exchanging the occasional 'that looks good' and whatnot.

The waiter returned a couple minutes later with our drinks in hand, a notepad neatly tucked in his apron.

"Iced tea for-a you," he said, sliding the glass towards me, "And a Coke for-a you," he finished, handing Mal his drink. He tossed a couple straws on the table, then pulled out his notepad and pen.

"Are you-a two a-ready?" he questioned, glancing at both of us. Mal unsuccessfully covered a burst of laughter with an unconvincing cough.

"Is-a something funny?" the waiter questioned with slightly narrowed eyes, seeming to pick up that he was the center of Mal's poorly-hidden laughter. Mal awkwardly cleared his throat, partially regaining composure.

"Er, no, just... uh... something in my throat," he quickly took a large sip of Coke in an attempt to make his tale a bit more convincing. He must have swallowed too quickly, though, because he started coughing for real. He coughed into a napkin to avoid spewing a fine mist of Coca-Cola right on the man. It took every ounce of self-control I had in me not to burst out laughing right then and there.

"I'll have the chicken alfredo, please," I managed politely, quickly recovering from a near-laughing fit.

"Of-a course, ma'am," the waiter replied with a pleasant smile, writing my order down on his pad. "And-a for you?" he asked Mal coolly.

"Uh, just spaghetti will do. Please," he added quickly, avoiding prolonged eye contact with the waiter.

"Fine," he replied curtly, messily scribbling Mal's down. "I'll-a be back with-a some salad and bread," he muttered before walking away. The minute he was out of earshot, Mal and I both burst out laughing. I noticed people starting to stare, so I quickly tried to quiet down.

"Shh," I managed between laughs, "Everyone's staring at us; shut up!" After several minutes, we finally were able to settle down, reducing our child-like laughter to the occasional chuckle.

"As I said," I started after a quick sip of tea. "You are horrible."

"Don't even _pretend _to act like that was anything less of hilarious," Mal accused lightly with a broad smile.

"I wasn't denying that it was funny," I admitted with a grin, "But for God's sake, at least _try _to be _somewhat _polite!"

"Fine," Mal sulked, faking agitation. I laughed and turned away to begin feeding Halia before our food came. Mal and I took turns feeding her mashed peas and carrots, occasionally making pretend airplane noises to coax the admittedly-terrible-looking food into her mouth. She had finished about half the jar of each and refused to eat any more, so Mal and I gave up, returning the lids to the tops of the jars. Several minutes later, the same waiter returned with two steaming plates of food. Another waiter came behind him with salad and bread, setting it down on our table before scurrying off back into the kitchen.

"For-a the _polite _young lady," the waiter announced, setting the plate of pasta right in front of me. "And-a for the little boy," he finished flatly, narrowly-missing dropping the steaming-hot plate on top of Mal's arm. I barely stifled a laugh at 'little boy' part, and had to quickly take a sip of tea to swallow the laughter. As if in agreement, Halia giggled loudly, earning a smile from the waiter.

"Is there-a anything else I can-a get for you?" he asked, looking only at me.

"No, it looks good," I said politely, flashing him a smile. "Thank you!"

"No-a problem," he replied, returning the grin before glaring at Mal and stalking away. I started laughing again once he was out of earshot, enjoying the look on Mal's face.

"Eat your food, little boy," I mocked, taking a bite of my alfredo.

"Shut up," Mal muttered, once again unsuccessful at trying to hide an emotion; this time a sulk. He took a bite of his pasta, too, failing to hide the fact that he enjoyed the food.

We exchanged idle chit-chat as we ate, laughing as the same waiter walked by again, clearly avoiding our table. Halia had fallen asleep in her seat, horseshoe toy still in her mouth. As we finished up, the waiter came back and handed us the bill; well, handed _Mal _the bill, anyways.

"Here," he muttered, thrusting the billing folder near Mal's face. "Pay-a for the nice lady and yourself." Scowling slightly, Mal took it and set it down in front of him.

"Thanks!" I said cheerfully, smirking at Mal as the waiter happily took my plate.

"Ah, good-a job!" the waiter exclaimed in mock-praise as he glanced at Mal's plate. "You-a finished all of your food, little boy!" He turned and walked away without taking Mal's empty plate. I couldn't help but laugh again as Mal glared after the man.

"Alright, it's not funny anymore," he muttered, grudgingly looking over the bill.

"Oh, I still think it's pretty funny," I laughed. Mal glanced up and tried to hide the smile on his face.

"Whatever," he uttered, looking back down to disguise the grin.

"Mal, tip the poor guy!" I exclaimed as Mal was about to write '$0.01' on the tip line.

"I _am _tipping him," he protested, pointing towards the one-cent written on the line.

"Mal," I warned, "Don't be a little boy." Mal glared at me before reluctantly writing '$4.57' on the tip line, evening out the total bill to forty-five flat. The man soon came and took the bill again, glancing at it before nodding semi-approval.

"Have a good day, _miss_," he acknowledged as we were leaving. "And keep the two little ones out of the hot sun; it's been known to make people hot-heads." I flashed him a polite smile, then led an angry Mal out the door.

"Now _that _was funny," I laughed once we were outside again.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Moving on," he muttered. Before I could reply, the ringtone of my phone went off. I quickly pulled it out, glancing at the caller ID.

"It's Amy," I said aloud. Mal immediately stopped sulking, gaze going professional for a moment.

"Better answer it," he advised. "There must be some reason she's calling on a day off." I nodded and quickly answered with a quick 'hello?'.

"Hey, Natara?" Amy's voice came from the other line. "Look, I know it's you and Mal's day off, and I'm sorry for calling; but there's something I think you might want to see." She paused for a moment, and I waited expectantly. "I mean, it can wait until tomorrow if you can't come in right now, but I, uh... don't think it's something I should tell you over the phone."

"It's fine, Amy," I assured her. "We'll be over there soon. It won't take long, will it? Mal and I were planning on a few more errands."

"No, it shouldn't..." Amy trailed off, like she wanted to add more, but decided against it. An awkward pause filled the line for a moment.

"Okay, we'll be there as soon as we can," I repeated. "Thanks, Amy."

"Sure," she replied. Why did she sound so nervous and tentative? "See you soon." We hung up, and I turned to Mal.

"Does she not know we're off today, or-" he began. I cut him off mid-sentence.

"No, she knows; she apologized," I assured him. "There's just something at the lab she wants us to see or know about, but she said it wasn't something she should tell us over the phone. I told her we'd head over really quick; she said it wouldn't take long." Mal sighed but nodded.

"Okay," he replied, grabbing his keys. "Then let's go."


	7. Chapter 7: New Information

**Hey, guys! I haven't updated in a few days, but here is chapter seven. C: I'm glad you guys all liked the waiter; I was hoping that wasn't too obnoxious. XD Also, I just realized in my last chapter, I mentioned that Halia didn't like the sloth toy, and accidentally had them buy that one; I meant for them to buy the cat toy, so there'd be a cat and a horse... yeah. xD **

**Also, I'm going to start putting review replies at the end now, just to make it cleaner-looking. C: Oh, and I apologize that this chapter is really short, but it's more of a transition chapter; big things are yet to come. C:**

**On a somewhat-unrelated topic... I'M PROBABLY GOING TO PSEO IN PSYCHOLOGY NEXT YEAR. My school is finally letting us online PSEO with a local private college, and intro to psychology was on the list. :D My schedule will be jam-packed, but hopefully I don't die! ^_^ xD**

**ANYWAYS... Thanks to everyone for their reviews, and enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Chapter Seven - New Information

Mal and I quickly packed up the stroller, situated Halia in her car seat, and drove over to the precinct. Upon arrival, Mal carried Halia up the steps, pausing to let me open the door before proceeding in. We were immediately greeted by the uneasy faces of Jeremy and Blaise. The other officers in the precinct exchanged nervous chatter, every head turning to look at us as we walked in. We walked up to Jeremy and Blaise, questioning looks on our faces.

"What's up with everyone?" Mal asked quietly, glancing around at the room full of officers. Blaise opened her mouth to speak, but Jeremy stopped her.

"You should just go see Amy and Kai," Jeremy suggested gently. "They're down in the lab."

"We can take Halia for a minute," Blaise added. I nodded and Mal gently handed her to Blaise, tensely thanking them before turning and heading towards the lab, Mal at my side. We walked down the stairs to the lab, meeting an anxious-looking Amy and a for-once-in-his-life silent Kai. Amy sat in front of a computer monitor with Kai reading over her shoulder. Both of their head's immediately snapped up when Mal and I entered.

"Hi, guys," Amy greeted solemnly. Kai simply nodded at us, oddly silent.

"Hey Amy, Kai; what's up?" I asked. Amy and Kai exchanged apprehensive glances before Amy stood, walking over to us as Kai followed. Wordlessly, Amy motioned us over to where her and Kai sat.

I exchanged a quick questioning glance with Mal before we obeyed, walking over to the monitor and leaning over it. Amy rapidly keyed some form of a code into a password bar. A screen with a mugshot of a tall, athletic-looking man. The name 'Craig Daxell' was in boldface font at the top of the page. Amy scrolled down, highlighting a chunk of text with the computer's mouse. I quickly read it, and my heart nearly stopped. I read it again in disbelief, then looked up at Mal. His face had drained of color, and he stared back at me in astonishment. I suddenly felt like I was going to fall over, so I quickly grabbed the back of Amy's chair. She glanced up at us, worry clear in her eyes. Kai avoided our gazes, awkwardly examining a pen he was holding.

Highlighted on the screen was a chunk of text including two familiar school names: Sunrise Elementary and North Beach Highschool.

Stuttering, I tried to make sense of it all. "I... are you... oh my God. Oh my God. This is..."

"... The same guy," Mal finished, locking his horrified gaze with mine.

That was the same man responsible for the Sunrise Elementary shootings. That was the same man who murdered my daughter.

"Damn," was all Mal could mutter. I staggered over to a chair next to Amy, shakily running a hand through my hair.

"How?" I finally managed. "How the hell... oh my God." It was apparent that I could not form a coherent sentence any longer.

"There were two of them at the Sunrise shooting: Craig and his twin brother, Jack Daxell. We caught Jack the first time around, but nobody ever suspected that there was two of them. Craig resumed a normal life, as nobody had any reason to suspect him of anything; guilt by association isn't logical, after all, and we would have no evidence to charge him, anyways. Why Craig did it again, I'm not sure; but we know for sure it was just him this time, and he's behind bars, serving thirty-five-to-life." Mal and I said nothing, and the room dropped into a tense, paralyzed silence.

"I know it was your guys' day off," Amy began, "And I'm so sorry I had to rain on the parade, but-"

"It's okay, Amy," I said quickly. "Don't worry about it; we would've had to know at some point." Amy nodded and looked away.

"You two should go home for the night," Amy suggested gently. Mal and I nodded.

"I think we will," Mal sighed.

"Thanks for the info, Amy and Kai," I added. They both nodded and forced small smiles.

"No problem," Amy said, waving as we turned and left the room. We slowly walked back up the stairs, greeted by a quiet precinct. Most of the officers avoided our gaze as we walked past. Blaise silently handed Halia back to Mal, and I forced a 'thank you' smile in return.

"Mal and I are going home for the night," I said to Blaise and Jeremy. "Mal should be in tomorrow." We said quick goodbyes before heading back to Mal's car. Abandoning plans for further errands, Mal drove home in tense silence. Halia fell asleep in the car, so we put her in her crib for a nap. Emerging from her bedroom, Mal and I collapsed on the couch.

"Wanna talk about it?" he asked tiredly.

"Not right now," I sighed.

He nodded knowingly and heaved a sigh of relief. "Good, 'cause neither do I." I laughed lightly in response, and Mal idly flipped on the TV. He flipped past news reports of the North Beach shooting, finally leaving it on some horrible sitcom. Mal fell asleep within minutes, and I only half-watched, beginning to feel my eyelids wanting to close. Eventually I gave in, and fell asleep leaning on Mal.

* * *

**Review replies:**

_**The Beautiful Filth**__** - Thank you! I'm glad you found that amusing. XD**_

_**NiekaWow**__** - Thank you so much! Yes, so did I... perhaps because Mario is Italian. XD Thanks again, Nieka!**_

_**DizzyRedhead - Interesting theory, Hazel. XD Thank you, though! My dad actually gave a one-cent tip to a horrible waiter one time... XD**_

_**Long Live**__** Oblivion - Hahaha, thank you so much! I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again: Your reviews always make my day! I'm really glad you liked it! Regarding reviews, I love them! Yours definitely aren't too long. (: Better go do your school work! (; Thanks again, Kizzy!**_

_**mozzi-girl**__**- Thanks for the review, Molly! Hope you like this chapter. C:**_

_**HopelessRomantic1994 - Thank you, Jade! Glad you're liking it so far! :D**_


	8. Chapter 8: Late

**Hey, guys! It's been a bit since I've updated this story, I know; I just got distracted with one-shots and such. XD This chapter is set one month after chapter seven, as I needed a little more distance in time for the next few chapters or so. This isn't for a couple weeks still, but I wanted to let you guys know that I'll be on a writing hiatus over spring break and most of the next week or two. We're going on band and choir tour to Florida for most of spring break and some of the week after (March 13th-24th). The week after we get back is the end of the quarter for my school, so I'll need to catch up on all the homework I missed from being absent for four days of school (because of tour), and I won't have much time to write. Just letting y'all know, so you don't think I fell off the face of the earth or anything. ANYWAYS... review replies:**

_**DizzyRedhead ****~ Thank you for reviewing, Hazel! It was sad, but I was dying for a plot twist. XD Thanks again!**_

_**CauseOfDeathLover13 ~ It's perfectly fine! Thanks for the review, Lexi. I'm glad you've been enjoying it so far! Thanks again!**_

_**mozzi-girl ~ Thank you, Molly, and thanks for the review! Yeah, I noticed after I published it, and I was like, "Should I go back and change it?... nope; too lazy." XD **_

_**HopelessRomantic1994 ~ Thank you! I'm glad you're liking it so far. c: Thanks again, Jade!**_

_**The Beautiful Filth ~ Thank you so much for the review, Christie! It makes me incredibly happy to see that you're getting so into the story! XD Very interesting theories about Amber (not Abby), but I guess you'll have to wait and see. ;D I was actually interested in taking the psychology course at my school since late eighth grade, early freshman year; so pre-CoD. Playing CoD definitely spiked my interest, though, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to PSEO a college intro do psychology next year. C: That was really long and probably unnecessary, but again, thank you so much! You're awesome!**_

**Alright, well, enough of my crap; enjoy!**

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Chapter Eight - Late

"Mal, hurry up! We're late!"

"Hold on, I'm coming!"

Mal and I were both due in at the station today, and, once again, we had woken up late. Mal rushed past our open bedroom door headed towards the kitchen, Halia in one arm and his briefcase slung awkwardly over the other. I was in the middle of getting dressed when my phone went off, blasting my ringtone throughout the room. I hurried to pick it up, hoping it wasn't Anders calling and chastising us for being late, though we weren't yet.

"Hello?" I called into the receiver, trying to sound professional as I attempted to hold the phone and pull my pants up at the same time. Instead of the voice of my superior on the other line, I was surprised to hear Amber, our babysitter.

"Hey," she greeted, sounding a little nervous for whatever reason. I faintly heard shouting in the background, though I didn't think much of it at the time. "I'm going to be a little late. My mom, uh, needs me for a few minutes. I'm sorry."

I quickly glanced at the clock and suppressed a groan. "It's fine," I dismissed, barely quieting a sigh. "Just get over as soon as you can, please." She said 'okay' then hung up. _That was odd_, I thought to myself. _She's normally right on time_.

I proceeded to finish pulling on my pants, then put my black blazer on over the white t-shirt I already had on. Upon finishing in the bathroom and emerging from the bedroom, I quickly relayed Amber's phone call to Mal.

"Oh, great," he muttered, glancing at the clock and sighing audibly. "We're gonna get it from Anders."

"I know," I sighed with irritation, glancing again at the clock, as if that would help Amber get here faster. "She said her mom needed her for something, though; she probably can't help it." Mal shrugged with dismissal, impatiently looking at the clock again.

"I'm going to go start the car," Mal announced after a couple minutes of Amber not showing up. "So we'll be ready to go if she ever gets here."

"Mal," I chided with a light laugh. "Be nice." Mal shrugged and turned to walk away. He acted annoyed, but the smile on his face when he glanced back gave him away. I laughed and smiled back, grabbing my purse and doing a quick inventory check, even though I knew I had everything. I eventually went out the door through the garage exit and met Mal there, just as he was finishing buckling Halia in. Mal pulled the car out of the already-warm garage, allowing the air conditioner to start working as we leaned against the car, impatiently waiting for Amber to get there.

We nearly half an hour late by the time Amber's car finally swung into her drive way. She hurriedly jumped out of the car and scurried up to us, slightly out of breath. Patience already running extremely low, I opened my mouth to lightly chide her for being so late, especially when Mal and I had to get to work in a somewhat timely fashion.

"Amber, we are now almost half an hour late, and we really need to–" I stopped short, noticing how red and puffy her eyes were; she looked like she'd been crying this morning. Though she appeared to try to hide it with make-up, the fact that there were dark circles under her eyes was fairly clear. She winced slightly when she heard the scolding tone in my voice. Though I was still impatient, I felt a twinge of sympathy as she met my gaze, looking as if she might burst into tears right on the spot. I immediately made it a point to soften my tone.

"Sorry," I apologized after calming myself with a soft sigh. "Mal and I just need to get to work. I know it was something with your mom, but we'd appreciate it if you could try to get here on time." She nodded and looked down, seemingly embarrassed; rightly so, I should say.

"No, I'm sorry," she squeaked in a shaky tone. She briefly cleared her throat, then continued in a stronger voice that sounded much more like her usual tone. "That was my fault; I should've hurried more. I'll let you two get off to work, though. I'm really sorry," she added sheepishly. She briefly looked away, uncomfortably fiddling with the fabric of the long-sleeved shirt she wore, despite the warm August air. I exchanged a quick, questioning glance with Mal before gently trying to dismiss the situation.

"It's fine," I reassured her. "Don't worry about it, really." The annoyance I held towards her was starting to fade as she subtly sighed, clearly relieved. After a slight pause, I asked, "Are you okay?"

Her eyes surged with countless emotions that I couldn't fully read, though I could have sworn I saw flashes of something resembling anxiety or distress. They were gone as quickly as they came, however, and she rapidly flashed a smile at us.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" she assured a little too cheerfully. She looked like she wanted to say something more, but she apparently held her tongue.

"Okay," I answered, pretending I believed her and letting it go. "We'll see you later."

"And there are a few gluten-free things in the cupboard," Mal added, speaking up for the first time since she arrived. "Just find something if you're hungry; really, it's there for a reason." She hesitated for a moment before nodding and answering with a brief 'okay' as Mal handed Halia to her.

"Have a good day!" she called cheerily as I opened the car door, lightly bouncing Halia in her arms.

"Thanks," I said with a smile. "You too!" Mal smiled at her, too, offering a small wave as he pulled out of the driveway.

"That was weird," he commented once we were buzzing down the road as fast as the legality of the speed limit allowed.

"Yeah, it was," I replied. I glanced at the digital clock in the car. "Dammit, we're almost forty-five minutes late; we're _really_ gonna get it." Mal uttered agreement as we raced through a stoplight that we probably should have stopped at.

"Mal, watch it," I warned, glancing back as a car going through the intersection honked with annoyance. "The last thing we need is to get pulled over be another cop. That would be embarrassing." He nodded with a chuckle but didn't slow down.

Finally, we arrived at the precinct and raced inside, nearly bumping right into Anders. I quickly backed up a few steps to avoid colliding head-on with him, and Mal almost ran into me as I stopped suddenly.

"You're late," he said flatly, stating the obvious.

"We know, sir; we're sorry," Mal apologized, taking a bold step forward and speaking for us both.

"Any particular reason?" he asked, though the question sounded more taunting than an actual search for an answer. I glanced at Mal, silently begging him not to mention Amber; it would only sound like a half-ass excuse.

"No, sir; we were just running late," Mal answered firmly, looking Anders straight in the eyes.

"You call forty-five minutes 'just running late'?" he exclaimed loudly. Several heads snapped up, but I tried to ignore them. Mal opened his mouth to say something, but Anders continued speaking, turning to me. "What _actually_ happened?" he glowered at me, refusing to accept 'we were just running late' as an answer. "And no _bull_, Ms. Fallon."

"I, uh... We overslept a bit, and our babysitter was a little late. We were just running behind schedule this morning. We're sorry; it won't happen again."

"I'll let this one slide, since you two are rarely late," Anders muttered after some consideration, "But it would be in both of your best interests to make sure you are at work on time."

"Yes, sir," I replied obediently.

"Thank you, sir," Mal added.

Anders gave us each a curt nod, then turned on his heels back into his office, shutting the door behind him a little louder than normal.

"Well, he's pissed," Mal muttered to me as we made our way to our joint office, avoiding eye contact with the other officers.

"Just a bit," I said with a sarcastic laugh. We both sat down at our desks, beginning the tedious mound of paperwork that sat in front of us, just waiting to be filled out.

Several hours later, Anders strode into our office, an all-too-familiar manilla folder in his hand. He gruffly dropped it on Mal's desk, and Mal, apparently too focused to hear him walk in, nearly jumped right out of his skin.

"What the-" he exclaimed before glancing up, seeing Anders, and making a poor recovery. "Oh, uh... good afternoon, Captain. Another case?"

"Not really," he answered, opening the folder on Mal's desk. I stood and stopped behind Mal, looking over his shoulder at the documents in front of us. "It's more of a follow-up to that North Beach shooting last month. You're not going to believe this, but Craig Daxell used to have what you youngsters call 'a thing' with a woman of one of your previous cases. The woman's name is Andrea Holloway, and the case was something about her daughter being kidnapped. It was from several years back when this precinct was under Maria Yeong, but I'm assuming you remember which case this was."

I exchanged a surprise glance with Mal. "Yes," I answered, scanning the papers in front of me. "We remember that one."

"Andrea's eldest daughter is actually our babysitter for Halia," Mal said in slight disbelief.

"Oh," Anders uttered after a moment, for once unsure of what to say. "That's... interesting. I'm sure you knew this already, but his record wasn't exactly clean. He had quite the juvenile record, too, which you may or may not have known about. Real trouble-maker in high school, and had a tendency to be extremely violent."

"Makes sense," Mal commented, still scanning over the information on the paper. "Anything else?"

"That's all I have for now, but I'll let you know if a new case comes up. Good work so far," he added, taking a quick glance at the cumulative pile of completed paperwork. We both nodded in reply, and he turned and left the room.

"This is a very small world," I murmured after Anders had left.

"Seriously," Mal replied. "What are the chances of that?"

I paused to think for a moment. "Do you think that's why Amber was acting so weird that day?" I asked. Mal considered this.

"That would just about explain it," he concluded thoughtfully. "Seems as good an explanation as any. That shooting was all over the news and internet just hours after it happened. She'd of _had_ to see it somewhere."

I nodded. "That makes sense; she normally doesn't act that weird."

"You'd think she would've mentioned something, though," Mal thought out loud.

"Maybe not," I reasoned, thinking of what I would do in her situation. "Think about it: would you really tell two cops that are the parents of the kid you babysit for about that? Especially considering we just got done arresting him? I probably wouldn't. What would she say, anyways? 'Oh, by the way, my mom used to have a thing with the guy you just arrested for shooting a couple dozen people at a random high school.' No; that would just be awkward," I concluded, giving him a pointed look.

"True," he said after a moment's thought. "I guess I wouldn't, either."

"Interesting, though." Mal nodded and we sat in relative silence for several moments before simultaneously turning back to our paperwork.

A solid five hours later, I was beginning to get hungry. I finished the sheet I was on, then stiffly stood and stretched, barely suppressing a yawn. Mal glanced up at me, quickly finished the paper in front of him, then followed suit.

"Hungry?" he asked hopefully.

"Very much so," I answered with a smile.

"Good, because I'm starving," he laughed. "What do you want?"

"Being the health freak that I am," I joked, "Fast food sounds seriously good right now."

"I agree," Mal smiled, heading towards the door. "McDonalds good?"

"I will probably never say this again, but yes." Mal laughed, pushing the door open and holding it as I went through. I reached up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek as a thank-you, and he smiled in reply. Since the closest McDonalds was just a couple blocks away, we chose to walk instead of wasting gas to drive to some place I could see from where I was standing.

A young teen girl greeted us from the counter as we walked in.

"Hi!" she greeted with a friendly wave. "I can help you two once you're ready."

I nodded in acknowledgement with an amiable smile, a bit surprised to see that she couldn't have been older than sixteen. I didn't even know they hired at that age.

"You good?" Mal asked me, taking a step towards the counter.

"Yep," I replied. We approached the counter and the girl flashed a smile.

"What can I get for ya'?" she questioned. Mal motioned for me to go ahead, so I did.

"Um, I'll have a number-two with no pickles; and take off the drink and add a strawberry-banana smoothie, please" The girl nodded and keyed the order in, a bit slower than I found normal. After what felt like longer than it probably was, she finally looked up again.

"And for you?" she asked, looking at Mal.

"Number three, no mustard, please," Mal requested. The girl nodded again, struggling to key the order in. _She must be new, _I thought privately. She must have pushed a wrong button, because what should have come to around twelve-eighty-four, instead added to one-thousand-two-hundred-eighty-four. She spewed out a string of curse words under her breath, scowling at the register in front of her. Realizing what she said, her head quickly snapped up and her hand flew to her mouth, eyes wide and clearly embarrassed.

"Oh! Shoot, I'm really sorry, that kind of just slipped out," she muttered, cheeks turning bright red. "I'm new at this, too. Sorry. Uh, hold on..."

"It's fine," I excused with a polite smile. I glanced over at Mal who looked as if he was biting back a serious laugh-attack. I quickly looked away before I started laughing myself.

She struggled with it for several more moments before giving up with an exasperated sigh.

"Hey, Blake!" she called to someone behind the friers. "Can you, uh, help me out here? I kind of screwed up their order."

"Hold on," a voice that I assumed to be Blake called out. Moments later, he appeared behind the girl.

"Good God, Adrienne, what did you press?" Blake laughed. The girl, whose name was apparently Adrienne, looked down sheepishly, trying to hide a blush.

"Sorry about that," he apologized to us after pushing a few buttons and correcting the order. "It's her first day on the job." Adrienne flashed an embarrassed smile, looking like she wanted nothing other than a giant rock to crawl under.

"Not a problem," Mal replied politely, offering a reassuring smile. She nodded gratefully but didn't make eye contact again as she self-consciously handed Mal a plastic drink cup.

"Thank you!" I chimed, trying not to laugh at how embarrassed she looked. She just nodded and quickly turned away, scurrying behind the visible counter to make the smoothie. Mal quickly walked away to the pop machine where he promptly burst out laughing.

"Mal," I chastised between laughs, "Be nice."

"I'm just laughing because I did the same thing," he chuckled, seeming to remember something of the past.

"Really?" I puzzled with an amused expression.

"Yep. Not at a fast-food joint, but it was still the same mistake. I worked at a grocery store that was a few miles from my house. It was my senior year of high school, and I needed some cash; I figured cashiering at a grocery store couldn't be that hard. I somehow managed to ring up a few things wrong, though, and ended up scaring the hell out of the poor old lady that was just out to buy some bread and milk."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Classic, Mal." He rolled his eyes but laughed anyways, taking a sip of the Diet Coke he'd just poured himself.

"Two-fifty-nine!" Adrienne called from the counter. Mal collected the order while Adrienne avoided our gazes, and we sat down at a table near the back of the place. Mal handed me my burger and fries, and I accepted them gratefully, taking a long sip of the smoothie. I winced at the cold, but I was thirsty enough to not care.

While I wasn't looking, Mal stole my cup and took a quick sip.

"Hey!" I exclaimed with a feigned scowl. "That's mine, give me that!"

"I paid for it," he countered with a smirk. I tried to keep a straight face, but I rapidly lost it, breaking into a laugh as Mal smiled with a satisfied expression.

"Oh, shut up," I muttered with a laugh. As I tried to snatch the cup back, I accidentally knocked Mal's Coke over. Dark liquid flew across the table as it landed on the floor, spilling more of the soda on the floor. Mal and I both stared at it for a moment before bursting out laughing. Another teenaged boy who had been cleaning the floors turned around, scowling as he saw the spilled pop, muttering under his breath. I could have sworn I heard him mutter 'very mature', but it was too funny for me to actually care what he'd said.

"Sorry," I gasped between laughs, eyes watering from laughing so hard. "My bad."

"It's fine," he muttered flatly, begrudgingly beginning to mop up the spilled liquid. I grabbed a few napkins and tried to soak it up, but the dark pop immediately soaked through the thin napkin, leaving me with a dripping mess. Mal quickly stood to grab some paper towels from the bathroom, and we soon had the table mostly dry.

"Be more careful next time," the boy snapped, turning away and stalking off.

"Sorry!" I called out again, though he either didn't hear me or chose to ignore me; the latter was more likely, though.

"We should probably get back," Mal sighed, mostly recovered from his laughing fit.

"Yeah, probably," I replied, with a final laugh. Composing ourselves, Mal and I both stood and exited the restaurant, avoiding the teen boy as we walked past him and out the door.


	9. Chapter 9: Something Off

**Hi, guys! It's been forever since I updated, I know. I've been super busy, and I've also had the worst writer's block ever. XD You guys probably don't care, but I'm super happy that I've _finally _decided what I'm taking next year. c: I'm doing Honors Biology, Honors Pre-Calc, Honors Christian Theology, APUSH (AP U.S. History), AP English Lang & Comp, Concert Band, Jazz Band, PE, PSEO Intro to Psychology, and TA (teacher's assistant). TA isn't a class, but it looks good on a transcript. I'm not really sure why I just shared that with y'all, but nonetheless...**

**Also, I really need to start looking over my work a little better; I just noticed I mentioned something about Mal strapping Halia into her car seat in the last chapter... but Halia was being babysat by Amber, and therefore wouldn't be in the car or anything. XD Nobody else probably noticed, but it bothers me; so I'm putting it out there, and I'm too lazy to change it (again). I'll start going over it better, I promise!**

**ANYWAYS... review replies:**

_**NiekaWow - It's okay! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing; it means a lot! Thanks again, Nieka!**_

_**mozzi-girl - Thanks, Molly!**_

_**DizzyRedhead - Thanks for the review! Interesting notion, but oh gosh, no; she's not going to try to kill anyone. Amber acts weird around certain people (for reasons which will be revealed later), but she's not a killer. She's supposed to be a sweet character, actually. You shall see soon. c: Anyways, thanks, Hazel!**_

_**The Beautiful Filth - Thank you for the sweet review, and thanks for all the compliments! *blushes* c: That's kind of funny, but don't let a weird teacher turn you off for something you like. c: Yeah, criminal psychology seems interesting; but I definitely wouldn't want to be at the scene. I cannot stand other people's blood. xD Be a dashing DA! ;D But anyways, thank you so much for your nice reviews, Christie! :D**_

_**HopelessRomantic1994 - Thank you, Jade! I'm glad you liked the chapter. c:**_

_**Annie (Guest) - Thank you so much, Annie! That really means a lot. I'm really glad you liked 'Crashing In'; I hope you enjoy this one just as much! Thanks again!**_

_**CauseOfDeathLover13 - Thank you for the review! Don't worry about it; happy belated birthday! Yeah, eighth grade was a weird year for me. Unfortunately, it doesn't get any easier, academic-wise. Keep working at it! Thanks again for the nice review, Lexi! c:**_

**One more thing before I'll let you read away, guys: I'll be gone in Florida from the 13th until late at night on the 21st. It's band/choir tour, so I'll be super busy and I won't have time to write. I have a ton of ideas for this story now, as well as other one-shot ideas; I'll make it up to you, I promise! Just a heads up, though; I won't be on much at all during that time, if any. **

**OKAY, SERIOUSLY NOW... without further ado... enjoy! C:**

* * *

Chapter Nine - Something Off

"Done," Mal announced from beside me as he tossed down his pen with a clack. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, pushing the large pile of paperwork away from him. "You almost ready?"

"Yep," I replied, signing the last sheet in flourish of barely-legible penmanship. "I'm done; let's head home." Mal nodded and stood from his chair, pausing to stretch before picking up the paperwork and heading for the door. I followed close behind as we went to turn in our finished work, hoping to be dismissed.

"Good work," Anders announced approvingly. "There haven't been many new cases recently, so even though you were late today, I'll let you two go for the night."

"Thank you, sir," Mal and I replied with a polite smile. We exited his office and I quickly went to retrieve my purse while Mal went out in the night to start the car.

We soon arrived back at home, tiredly but gladly trudging through the door. Even from the place Mal and I stood in the hallway, I could hear Halia laughing loudly from what I presumed to be the kitchen. I instantly smiled; simply hearing her laugh somehow made the long day of monotonous paperwork seem worth it. I exchanged a quick smile with Mal before fishing forty dollars from my purse and lazily tossing the bag to the floor.

"Hi, Amber," Mal greeted as we strolled into the kitchen. Amber sat at the table facing us, but apparently didn't notice us walk in. A paper plate with grapes and a peeled, partially-eaten orange was in front of her; a half-empty water bottle was uncapped on the table. _Good_, I thought. _She had something to eat after all._ She was holding Halia in one arm and struggling to eat an orange with the other.

"Oh, hi!" Amber replied after jumping slightly, nearly dropping the fruit in surprise.

"Sorry," Mal laughed. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"Oh, no, it's fine!" she laughed back. She popped another grape in her mouth before standing and handing my daughter to me.

"How was she today?" I asked, taking Halia from her.

"Good," she answered after swallowing. "She only fussed once, but she was just hungry."

"Awesome," I said with a smile. "Thank you."

"No problem," she replied. "I love kids. And again, sorry I was so late today. It won't happen again."

"It's okay," I reassured, though I was rather agitated earlier. "And here." I held out the money to her, and she hesitated only a moment before reaching out to accept it with a gracious smile. As she took it from me, though, the sleeve of her shirt slipped up revealing a large, painful-looking bruise on her forearm.

"Whoa, what happened there?" I asked in surprise before I could stop myself. As her smile faded and she began to look uncomfortable, I started to wish I'd kept my mouth shut. "Sorry," I quickly apologized. "It just looks like it hurts."

"It's fine," she said with a quick smile. "It's from volleyball; The ball was over-inflated, and I bruise really easily."

"Ouch," Mal commented, wincing slightly.

Though I didn't think that was the whole truth, I decided to let it drop.

"Anyways," I continued, changing the subject. "Thanks again for coming." She looked relieved as she nodded again, cheerily waving goodbye as she grabbed her keys, walked out the door, and drove off.

"I may not have played any sports in high school," I said once she was gone, "But based off of my knowledge from the three-week volleyball unit in sophomore-year gym class, I know that bruise was _not _from a sport."

"I agree," Mal murmured, "But I didn't want to push it."

"Me neither," I agreed, adjusting Halia's shirt.

"Mind if I go put Halia to bed?" Mal asked, breaking the moment of silence. "She looks exhausted." I glanced down at Halia, who was sleepily blinking and basically falling asleep in my arms. I couldn't help the 'aw' that slipped out of my mouth.

"Sure thing," I smiled, handing her to Mal. She blinked a few more times before apparently giving in to the exhaustion of the long day of laughing and giggling. As Mal turned down the hallway, I went to the bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes. Mal and I emerged from opposite doors simultaneously. Neither of us expecting the other, we rammed right into each other.

"Oof!" Mal muttered. Startled, he stumbled back against the wall.

"Ah!" I exclaimed in surprise, clumsily tripping backwards and whacking my head on the door frame.

"God, I'm sorry!" Mal quickly apologized, extending a hand to help me up.

"Shoot," I muttered, apologizing simultaneously. "Sorry!" I took his hand as he helped pull me up, gently rubbing the back of my head where it had impacted the door frame.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a barely-stifled chuckle.

"I'm fine," I laughed, shaking it off. The pain was already ebbing away, so I assumed nothing major had been hurt.

Not letting go of my hand, he led me out to the kitchen. "Thirsty?" he asked with a grin.

"Of course," I answered with a smile.

"Go on to the living room; I'll grab a couple glasses." I nodded as Mal turned to the fridge, retrieving the bottle of liquor. It wasn't anything strong, and we only had one glass; we didn't particularly wish to get drunk with Halia in the house. I proceeded to the living room, tiredly trudging over to the couch. Sprawled on the couch was an open book. I picked it up and read the cover: _Pride & Prejudice _by Jane Austen. Considering it wasn't mine, I was puzzled as to why it was in the house._  
_

"I didn't know you liked nineteenth-century novel of manners books," I teased out loud. Mal popped his head out from the kitchen with a scowl on his face.

"What are you talking about?" he questioned, emerging with two full glasses of alcohol. I held up the book and he took a quick glance at it.

"That's not mine," Mal scoffed with a laugh. "I thought it was yours."

"Oh please," I laughed. "When would I have time to read? Though I will admit, this is a good book." Mal laughed.

"So it's not yours?" he questioned.

"Nope," I said. Mal took the book from me and opened to the front cover. Written on the inside cover in neat, loopy handwriting was the name 'Amber Holloway'. As Mal idly flipped a couple pages, several sheets of notebook paper fell out, covered in the same neat handwriting.

"Looks like Amber left this here," Mal commented.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," I laughed, smirking as he rolled his eyes at me. "She probably needs it, though; those look like notes for school."

Mal nodded. "Wanna give her a call? I'm sure she's home by now; it's been twenty minutes.

"Sure," I answered, retreating back to the entryway to retrieve my phone, which was still sitting lazily in my purse somewhere. I pulled it out and dialed her number as I walked back to the living room, quietly pacing around as I heard it ring several times without answer. I was about to hang up and try again later when I heard a click, signifying that she'd picked it up.

"Hello?" she called into the phone. She sounded a little out of breath.

"Hi, Amber?" I answered. "You left your Pride and Prejudice book over here."_  
_

"Oh, shoot," she muttered, struggling to catch her breath from whatever she was doing. "I need that."

"Yeah, we thought you might," I said. "Mal or I can drive it over right now if you want."

"Oh, no!" she protested quickly. Though she couldn't see it, I raised my brow in confusion. "Uh, I mean, no, that's fine; I'll come and get it myself. Thanks, though,"

"Oh, uh, sure," I said hesitantly. I didn't want to ask about anything, though, so I once again let it go. "Just drop by whenever."

"Alright," she agreed. I vaguely heard a shout from the background, though I couldn't make out what was said. "Uh, I gotta go," she said quickly. "I'll, um, come and pick it up in half an hour. Thanks," she added.

"No problem," I replied.

"She'll come and pick it up soon," I announced to Mal after hanging up.

"M'kay," Mal murmured distractedly. "But in the mean time..." As I turned to see what he was talking about, Mal snuck up behind me and grabbed me around the waist, picking me up and effortlessly twirling me around several times.

"Eeek!" I screeched with a surprised laugh. "Mal, put me down!" I protested between giggles. He put me down for a moment, seeming to consider this.

"Nah," he replied with a smirk after a short silence. He picked me up again and spun me around before lightly dropping me on the couch. I laughed as he collapsed down beside me, allowing me to cuddle into his side. He gave me a swift, sweet peck on the lips as his arm found its way around me, and I took his other hand in mine. Exhausted from the day, we both sighed contentedly.

I was just about to drift off to sleep as the doorbell rang, startling me awake. I shot straight up, narrowly missing my fist meeting Mal's jaw.

"Hey, watch it!" he exclaimed in surprise.

"Sorry!" I apologized with a laugh. "That must be Amber." Mal nodded and allowed me to stand as I grabbed the book and headed for the door. I opened it and stepped outside slightly, meeting the now-chilly night air. Amber stood in the same long-sleeve shirt, shivering slightly in the mild breeze. Though it was dark, the porch light illuminated her enough for me to see her red eyes surrounded by smudges of make-up. I could barely make out what looked to be the beginnings of a bruise, partially concealed underneath a sheer, pink fashion scarf. I eyed her suspiciously, but tried not to stare as I handed her the book.

"Thanks," she said with a forced smile. "I was wondering where I left that." She flipped through the pages briefly before looking up again. "Were there any sheets of notebook paper in here? I had notes written on them."

"Oh, right!" I said, just now remembering the several sheets of paper I had set on the coffee table. "I'll go grab them. Come in for a second," I added.

"No, it's fine," Amber said with a polite shake of the head. "I have to get home. But thanks." I glanced at her for a moment but dismissively nodded and retreated inside to fetch the notes. When I returned several moments later, Amber was leaning against the railing of the porch, looking as if she were about to burst into tears again. I tried to ignore it as I handed her the papers, but my motherly instincts took over. It almost didn't matter who someone was; since losing Madi and having Halia, I'd been a lot more sympathetic towards people- especially young girls. It came with the job, too; I couldn't help but feel bad for all the poor kids Mal and I encountered on various cases. Many of them were innocent victims of heinous crimes; and no matter who you brought to jail, they would be scarred with that event for the rest of their lives.

"Hey, uh, Amber," I started as she looked up slightly and met my concerned gaze. "Are you sure you're okay?" She abruptly looked away and opened her mouth like she was about to say something, before quickly closing it and looking back at me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured me, though I could see her blinking back tears. "I'm just... stressed." I didn't believe her at all, but I didn't want to pry. Her eyes flashed once again to emotions that would have been unreadable, were it not for my profiling skills. A deep sadness in her blue eyes pierced the night; over what, I wasn't sure. I thought I saw longing, too, and she looked like she was on the verge of wanting to talk again. The firmly closed her mouth again, though, as if the debate with herself had been closed for discussion for the time being. Something was definitely out of place with her, but I didn't want to make her cry any more than she looked like she already had.

"Alright, well, let us know if you need anything, okay?" I said.

Amber nodded. "Okay, and thanks." I nodded and flashed her a smile as she turned and started to walk away.

"Did you walk here?" I questioned, just then noticing that her car wasn't in the driveway.

"Yeah, I did," she answered. "But I'm fine; it's just a couple blocks." I nodded, but didn't return indoors again until I saw her round the second block to where I knew her house was.

"She's been acting really weird recently," Mal commented as I turned back inside. He'd been standing behind me where the door would conceal his location.

"Yeah, she has," I agreed with a tired sigh. "For the second time today, she looked like she was about to have an emotional breakdown right on our front steps."

"I hope everything's alright," Mal murmured with concern.

"So do I," I replied.

"Wanna get some sleep?" Mal asked finally. "I'm exhausted."

"That makes two of us," I yawned. "Let's get to bed."


	10. Chapter 10: Enough

**Er. Mah. Gerd. I haven't updated this in literally over a month. I'M SORRY OK. First I had band tour, then drama (as in theater drama) started, and I had a ton of school work... essentially, no time to write. But I have a little more time now, so I'll try to update this a bit more frequently this time. I only have a few more chapters of this story to write before I'll wrap it up, so I hope you've liked it so far. c: **

**Anyways, review replies! c:**

**_LittleGirlBigImagination__ ~ Thank you so much, Kalina! I'm glad you like it. c:_  
**

**_mozzi-girl_****_ ~ Thanks, Molleh! :D_**

**_ZeDancingHobbit ~ Thanks for the review, Suzy! c:_**

**_NiekaWow ~ Thank you, Nieka! I'm glad you're liking it so far. C:_**

**_Guest (Annie) ~ Thank you for reading and reviewing! I hope you continue to like it._**

**_HopelessRomantic1994 ~ Thanks for the review, Jade! Couldn't quite meet the 'update soon', but here it is now! xD Thanks again!_**

**_Things In Ink ~ Thank you so much for the nice/thoughtful review! Yes, I love funny Mal. c: I didn't want to make it all sad, just because the title is called 'Beginning Again', which implies hopefulness. But I didn't want to make it all happy/cheery, either, because nobody ever fully gets over losing a kid. Thanks again, Rose! You're awesome!_**

**_The Beautiful Filth ~ Thank you, Christie! I kind of decided no on the TA-ing, because my class load is so heavy and I don't really have time. I'd love to, but I just don't have time. XD Unusual combination, though clinical psychology might be interesting. Thanks again for the review; your reviews honestly make my day!_**

**_FeliciaTheGoat ~ Hi, Essy! Thank you so much for the nice comments, and welcome to Fanfiction! [: Thanks again!_**

**Also, not to spoil the story (though I think most of you have figured it out already), but I should warn you now: this chapter could be potentially triggering, as it deals with domestic/child abuse. Read at your own risk. **

**Once again, thank you all so much for so many nice reviews; you're all wonderful! I hope you enjoy the chapter, though I will warn you, it's a bit sad. **

* * *

Chapter Ten - Enough

"Done," I announced as I finished my last stack of paper work, tiredly sighing as I dropped my pen on my desk. "And may I remind you," I continued to Mal, "That I finished before you."

"Slow and steady wins the race," Mal stated with a smile. I stood up, walked over to his desk, and leaned against his chair.

"Usually," I said with a sly smile, "Except for the fact that it's two-thousand-thirteen, not twenty-thousand-thirteen."

Mal quickly looked down at the paper he'd just signed and dated. Next to his barely-legible signature, his some-what sloppy handwriting read '20013' instead of '2013'.

"Ah, crap," he muttered, looking around for something to fix it with.

"Oh, and you spelt my name wrong. I'll try not to be offended," I added jokingly.

"Wait, what?" he exclaimed, looking down at the paper again. Sure enough, the line for 'assigned partner' was filled with my incorrectly-spelt name: 'Natarara Fallon'.

"Ugh, dammit," he grumbled. "Sorry, I'm tired."

I laughed. "It's fine, Mal, I'm just giving you crap. But you should probably fix that before handing it in," I added.

He laughed. "Yeah, whatever," he muttered with feigned annoyance. Mal opened one of his desk drawers in search of white-out, while I stood watching with an amused expression on my face.

"How professional," I commented sarcastically as he lightly brushed over my name with the white-out.

"Shut up," Mal muttered, pretending to be agitated and failing miserably. He gave up and smiled, and I couldn't help but smile back.

A few minutes later, Mal finished re-writing my name over the dried white-out, adding it to the stack he had already finished. We both walked our paper work to Anders' office, and were about to exit the door to his office, when he stopped us.

"Mal, Natara," he called. We both turned around.

"Yes, sir?" Mal asked.

"I know it's getting kind of late," he began, glancing at the clock. "But would you mind checking something out before you retire for the night? There were reported gun shots from a house in your neighborhood. I'd have someone else do it, but I thought you two might want to check it out, seeing as it's in your neighborhood and all."

I exchange a concerned glance with Mal. "Of course we'll check it out," I answered immediately.

"Alright, good. Here's the address," Anders said, handing us a post-it note.

I should have recognized the address right off the bat, but for whatever reason, it didn't register right away.

"Thank you, sir," Mal said. "We'll be on our way."

"It might turn out to be nothing, but either way, give me a call," he commanded.

"Of course, sir," I said respectfully. "Thank you."

"Sure. If all goes well, I'll see you two tomorrow."

We exited Anders' office and walked out of the precinct, emerging into the cool night air. It felt good, considering the precinct was excessively warm today. I was still worried, though, as the apparent gun shots had been heard less than a mile away from our house.

"Let's get to that address," Mal said quickly. "It might be nothing, but I'd like to make sure. I'm sure your sister can handle Halia for a few extra minutes." I nodded, sliding in the passenger's seat and pulling the buckle over my shoulder. We drove in slightly-tensed silence until we reached our development. Mal drove slowly so we could see the house numbers in the dim lighting. We passed ours, then another house, and another house. We made a left at the next intersection, passed a couple more houses, and slowed to a stop outside a small, white house. It wasn't exactly run-down, but the sidings could've used a new paint job. I took one glance at the house and immediately recognized it.

"This is Amber's house," I murmured quietly. Mal looked over at me and nodded.

"Yeah, it is." Mal instinctively touched his holster, making sure his gun was there. I did the same, feeling a little safer somehow. Mal stepped in front of me and strode up the walk way, pausing at the door and knocking firmly several times. When no shuffling inside was heard and nobody answered after several seconds, he tried again, knocking louder that time. I thought I heard some scuffling around and a muffled shout, but still no answer at the door.

"This is the S.F.P.D.," he called out loud. "Gun shots have been reportedly heard from this house. We'd like to ensure that everyone is alright."

Several more seconds passed, and I began to get impatient. "Please open the door," I called, loud enough to be easily heard. "Or we'll have to force it open." When there was still no answer after several minutes of knocking and shouting, he tried the door handle. It was unlocked.

"Well," he commented quietly. "That was easier than expected." We both stepped inside, hands ready to draw our pistols if needed.

"S.F.P.D.," Mal called out again. "Please come out." I started to slowly look around, nearly blinded by the darkness in the room. I felt myself step on something wet. I pulled a small, bright-beamed flashlight from my belt and turned it on, shining it down towards the source of whatever I stepped on. What my flashlight illuminated was a large blood stain. From the disturbing feel of it under my shoe, it was fresh.

I was about to bend down to gain a closer look, when I heard a female scream followed by a loud crashing sound, like glass shattering against the floor. Mal and I exchanged a quick glance, then rushed towards the sound. We turned the corner around the small staircase, emerging into the living room. From the living room, we could see a woman, clearly completely wasted, staggering around in a rage. A man stood off to the side, silently watching. Through the dim lighting, I could also make out the form of a thin teenaged girl, backed up against a wall, trapped in a corner while the woman stomped around, screaming slurred words. The girl, presumably Amber, was crying loudly and shouting back every so often. The woman's back was to us, and from what I could tell, Amber hadn't seen us yet.

Mal grabbed my wrist and we ducked behind the couch. "Let's watch for a minute before we do anything. I'd like to see what's _really _going on here." I nodded in agreement, silently drawing my gun. Mal followed suit, making sure the weapon was loaded in case we needed it.

"Look what you've done!" the woman, whom I assumed to be Amber's mom, screamed, pointing drunkenly towards a pan of burnt-who-the-hell-knows-what on the counter. "I gave you _one _job, and you screwed it up!"

"I-I'm sorry," Amber said shakily, slowly trying to edge out of the corner.

"Sorry doesn't un-burn dinner," her mom spat back. "And what the hell," she started, picking up a piece of paper from the table, "Are these grades? Why the hell do you have a B-plus, dumbass?"

"It's _one _B-plus in AP Calc, mom, you know math is hard for me," Amber yelled back, voice strained. "The rest are A's. I tried my best," she added in a smaller, weaker voice.

"Well, obviously 'your best' isn't good enough!" she shouted back, throwing the paper to the ground. "Why can't you get good grades like your sister?"

"Mom!" she cried, voice desperate again. "Brooke is _ten_. Of course she gets all A's."

"Yeah, she's ten, but you're _seventeen_. Get it together, or you're grounded for a month."

"I'm sorry," Amber began again. "I just-"

"Shut up!" her mom snapped, slapping Amber across the face. My hand instinctively flew to my mouth, and I exchanged an alarmed look with Mal. His eyes were wide, and surprise followed by realization flashed in his eyes. _That explains the bruises and jumpiness around Mal and I, _I thought sadly to myself.

"Mom, I'm sorry," she cried, fighting against more tears. "I'll try harder, okay? Just please let me-"

"I said, shut up!" she yelled, slapping her again, harder this time. I winced instinctively, silently thanking whoever's out there that my parents never hit me. They were strict sometimes and we didn't always get along, but they'd never even _think about _harming my sister or I.

"First your bitchy attitude, then your grades. What's next, you gonna get pregnant? Just what we need, another ugly little brat like you running around."

"Mom, no, I just think I need some help because-" Amber started.

"Did I stutter?" Andrea raged, cutting her daughter off and pausing for a moment to finish off the bottle of alcohol she was drinking. "I said no, for God's sake!"

Amber tried again, but was once more cut off. "Mom, please, I just need to-"

"I'm not taking you to the damn doctor's or psychiatrist or whoever the hell you want to see," she continued. "For God's sake, shut up! I have enough crap to deal with and pay for without all of your anti-depressants and other bull-"

The man off to the side spoke up, interrupting her. "Andrea," he said quietly. "That's enough."

"Shut up, Dave," Andrea seethed, ignoring his words and turning back to Amber. "I have enough crap to pay for without adding your damn medical drugs to the list."

"Mom," she protested desperately, tears coursing down her cheeks. "I need _help_, why the hell can't you see that? I'm tired of living like this and-"

"WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST SAY?" Amber's mom screamed, stepping ominously towards Amber, bottle still in hand. "I said no, you ungrateful idiot! Why don't you start showing some appreciation towards your mother who feeds you and puts clothes on your back? All you've done since you got home from work is bug me about going to the damn doctor's! In fact, why don't you-"

"Andrea," the man said again, more forcefully and louder. "That is _enough_."

"Don't tell me what to do, Dave!" she screamed, turning back to Amber, raising the empty glass bottle, and swinging it at her. Amber tried to side-step and block it with her arms, but the bottle shattered against her skin, drawing blood and exploding glass every where. She tossed the bottle to the ground and grabbed the pistol from the counter, whipping it out with deadly speed and purpose and aiming at Amber.

Just as Andrea's finger squeezed the trigger, the man, Dave, yanked Amber out of the way. The bullet blasted through the wall just behind where Amber had been a split-second earlier, causing Amber to a scream.

What happened next seemed to go by in slow-motion.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Andrea screeched, turning on Dave. With drunken rage, she fired three shots at him. One missed, but the other two found their way to flesh: one in his arm, and one near his heart.

"Ahh!" Dave yelled, falling to the floor in a bloody heap.

Amber screamed and cowered back in the corner as her mom whirled around and again took aim at her. Mal and I sprang from cover, rapidly drawing our guns.

"S.F.P.D.!" Mal yelled, causing Andrea to whip around and point the gun at Mal. Amber's head snapped up, eyes widening in surprise. "Put the gun down and your hands up!"

"Ah hell no," she yelled, staggering around in intoxication. "I am _not _going to jail for this!"

With that, she threw one final glare at Amber, turned the gun on herself, pressed the barrel to her temple, and pulled the trigger.


	11. Chapter 11: Misused & Abused

**Hi, guys! It's been a while again; I'm just really bad at updating, sorry! D: Accept my apology with these cookies? *hands you cookies and looks at you hopefully* ... Okay, well, anyways... I've had some great ideas for fanfics lately, so I'll be starting more after this one ends. c: Now for review replies...**

_**ZeDancingHobbit ~ Thanks for the review, Suzy! I'm glad you weren't expecting it; I have concealed my depressing plot-twist well. XD Thanks again!**_

_**NiekaWow ~ Thank you, Nieka! I'm not the best at math, either, but I'd be in trouble if I got a B. Not that extreme, obviously, but yeah. Thanks again for the review and for reading!**_

_**The Beautiful Filth ~ I say this, like, every single time, but you always give the best reviews! Thank you! Ah, yes, I know those journalism feels. xD Drama and band tour were awesome, thanks! Once again, THANKS, CHRISTIE. :D**_

_**mozzi-girl ~ I don't know first-hand, either, but I've read enough about it to hope it was somewhat accurate. Thank you, Molly!**_

**Alright, well, without further-ado... chapter eleven. c:**

* * *

Chapter Eleven - Misused & Abused

Amber, Mal, and I all reacted, one after another.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed, hand flying to my mouth.

"Holy hell!" Mal yelled.

"Mom, Dave, no!" Amber cried.

Andrea fell to the ground, blood and brains spattering the floor as she landed in a gory mess next to Dave. Their blood mixed, running into each other and creating an ungodly mess on the kitchen floor.

Amber ran to her mother's side and collapsed to the tile, sobbing hysterically into her hands. Mal and I were about to run over to her when we heard light footsteps and a young voice call from the stair way around the corner.

"Amber?" a young girl called. "Amber, what's wrong?" I heard her continue to descend down the stairs, and I met Mal's horrified gaze.

Amber's little sister.

_Hell_ no. She could _not_ see this.

As if by an unspoken agreement, Mal rushed towards the stairs to keep the girl away, and I rushed towards Amber, pulling my phone from my pocket.

I quickly pressed the speed dial for Anders' office phone.

"Hello?" Anders answered. "Agent Fallon, is everything alright?

"Two are dead, and there are two kids in the house," I relayed breathlessly, heart pounding out of my chest.

"What happened?" Anders asked urgently.

"Long story short, the mom was drunk and beating one of her kids, the step-dad tried to intervene and got shot, then the mom shot herself." I turned away from the receiver for a moment to catch my breath.

"How old are the kids, and did they see anything?" he questioned, clearly startled.

"Seventeen and ten. The seventeen-year-old saw everything," I said quietly, glancing at Amber who was still sobbing on the floor. "But the ten-year-old is upstairs."

"I'm sending several more officers over there. Hold tight."

I quickly responded and hung up, then knelt down next to Amber. I wanted to get her away from the rapidly-expanding pool of blood, as swimming in the combination of two people's bodily fluid is just not a healthy thing to do. I gently eased her half-up and half-dragged her around the corner and away from the horrific sight.

As hard as she was crying, I knew it was useless to try to get her to talk at the moment. I had a million questions, but now was not the time to ask them. Instead, I felt an overwhelming instinct to console the poor girl. The violent nature in which she shook with emotion scared me a little, but she _had _just been both verbally and physically abused, followed by having to watch her step-dad and mom die an unsightly death.

Brief thoughts of Madi and Halia flashed through my mind. How could a parent _ever _bring themselves to say something like that to their own child? I would give anything in the world to be able to tell Madi 'I love you' one last time; I couldn't even fathom saying anything even half as harsh to _anyone_, let alone my own child._  
_

I reached over and gently placed my hand on her back. She glanced up to see who I was, met my eyes, and nearly lunged into an embrace, admittedly catching me off-guard. I'm not one for physical touch in the field, but I couldn't help it as I returned the hug and let her cry. She'd been through hell and back multiple times within the last five minutes; the least I could do is attempt to comfort her. She sobbed into my shoulder as I began to rub her back in an attempt at comfort.

"I'm sorry," I murmured quietly, tears pricking my own eyes. "I'm so sorry." I was saying sorry _for_ her, because she had to go through and see all of that, but I was also saying sorry _to _her, for not being able to help or see the signs earlier. I knew it wasn't my fault, but I still wished Mal and I could've helped and possibly prevented this. She murmured something unintelligible, and though I wanted to listen, I didn't feel like pressing. We stayed in that somewhat-uncomfortable position for at least five minutes as I let her continue blubbering, her emotion-filled sobs piercing the otherwise eerie silence of the room. Help was supposedly on the way, but we were about fifteen minutes from the precinct.

Suddenly, Amber sat up, looking frantic.

"Wh-where's Brooke?" she stammered urgently. "Did... did she... see?"

"Mal's upstairs with her," I said, wondering what he was doing up there. "As far as I know, she saw nothing. She heard some things, though." Amber sighed in relief and sat up slightly. She took several shaky breaths and wiped her eyes on her sleeves.

_"_I'm sorry," she sniffed, blinking tears out of her eyes. She tried to start saying something, but emotions got the better of her. "I... I just... I have no idea... I... oh my God, oh my God..." She broke down crying again, sobbing into her hands and leaning against her knees. I gently rubbed her back again, trying to quiet her down.

I almost said 'it's okay', but that was probably one of the dumbest things one could say at such a time. I won't even get into how senseless that question was for the given circumstance. So instead, I said, "Shh, don't apologize. Breathe."

She continued for another few minutes before her loud bawling subsided to occasional shaky sobs. She had apparently cried herself out for the time being. She took another shaky breath and leaned against the wall, shifting her gaze upward.

"I'm sorry for my language," she faltered, wiping her eyes again, "But how the _hell _am I supposed to tell Brooke that... our parents..." She sighed, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"I don't know," I answered softly but honestly. I couldn't even imagine what I would say if I had to relay that news to Neha when we were that young. Or ever. "Mal or I can talk to her, if you want. Or if you want to do it, you should probably wait until you're... in a slightly better emotional state."

Amber choked out a humorless laugh, sighing deeply and running a hand through her hair. We sat in silence for a few moments before I could no longer hold in the question anymore. It had been on the tip of my tongue for a while, and I wanted the answer.

"Amber," I started quietly. "Why didn't you tell us? You know we would've helped."

"I know, I know," she said, voice full of regret. "I wish I would have, and I... I was just scared and... I don't know..."

I felt like she still wasn't telling the whole truth, but at this point, I needed the truth for more reasons than one.

"There's no use in trying to hide any of this anymore," I said gently. "She... can't hurt you now."

She hesitated, but decided to continue. "I... okay. She told me if anyone else found out about what she did to me, then she... she'd... kill me. And I hate asking for help... she'd just call me useless or stupid or something..." I winced slightly at the mere prospect of a mother saying something like that to her child.

Suddenly, the front door banged open and several more officers rushed in. I peered around the corner and met Blaise's eye. She glanced around at the gore, eyes wide in shock and horror.

"Ah, man," she commented quietly, flinching slightly at all the blood. If _Blaise_ flinches, you _know_ there's an excessive amount of blood. She looked down and noticed Amber, and her expression looked pained. She motioned for me to stand, so I did.

"We're going to have to ask her some questions," she mumbled quietly to me. "For legality or whatever. Sorry."

"It's okay, I know," I murmured back. "I got it. Just give us a few moments." She nodded.

"Is she okay?" Blaise questioned, indicating Amber. "Dumb question, I know, but you know what I mean."

"As far as life-threatening physical injuries, she's fine. Her mom had been hitting her, though, so I wouldn't be surprised if she had quite a few scrapes and bruises," I said, "But emotionally, not by a long-shot. She's still really upset, for obvious reasons, and she's been bawling for the past almost-half- hour."

Sympathy flashed through her eyes as she glanced down at Amber again. "Saying 'this is horrible' is the epitome of understatements, but... this is horrible." I nodded in agreement, but said nothing, motioning towards Amber who had her head in her hands again, quietly whimpering.

"Not now," I murmured softly, almost inaudibly, so that just Blaise could hear me. "I'll talk to you later." Blaise nodded with understanding.

"I'll be over here," she said, cringing as she motioned towards the bloody mess. I nodded, then knelt down next to Amber again.

"Listen," I started sympathetically. "I hate having to do this right now, but I'm legally required to. I need to ask you a few questions. I'm sorry."

She looked up and once again wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "It's okay," she said. "I think... I think I need to talk, anyways." I nodded, extending a hand down to help her up. She took it and pulled herself up, going shakily around the stairs the other way so she didn't have to walk by the bodies of her parents again. She led me outside to the bench on the porch. We both sat down and I gave her a few moments before starting. In cases of abuse such as that, I was required to ask certain questions. They seemed intrusive, but they were legally necessary.

"How long had your mom been abusing you?" I asked. She winced at the mention of the word 'abuse', and I immediately felt bad for saying it.

"A couple years," she said after a moment's hesitation. I nodded.

"Was she usually drunk or consuming alcohol when she'd hurt you?"

"Usually, yeah," she sniffed, wiping her eyes on her shirt sleeve again. "Either drinking, drunk, or hung-over. I can't even remember the last time she was sober."

I hesitated a moment before asking the next one. "What did she... specifically do to you?"

Amber took a deep breath, seeming to try to sum up the courage to say them out loud. "Well," she started, "She usually just hit me, with either just her fists or another object... so... beatings, I guess... sometimes she threw stuff, too. And one time she... shoved me down the stairs, and I ended up breaking my arm. I had to tell everyone it was a sports accident."

"Okay," I said sadly, quickly scribbling a few things down on a notepad. "Those were all physical abuse, but... from the sounds of it, it wasn't just physical pain inflicted. It sounded like verbal abuse."

Amber nodded, and her eyes filled with tears again. I felt bad making her cry again, but I really needed the information. "Yeah, she... yelled a lot. She always had something to make me feel like crap over... personality, grades, my sister, appearance..."

"Did she abuse your sister, too?" I questioned, expecting a 'yes' for the answer.

"No," she replied, surprising me. "As far as I'm concerned, she never laid a finger on Brooke. She... she was always the 'perfect child', ya' know? Smarter, prettier, skinnier, better-behaved, nicer friends... My mom hated me. I'm glad she never hurt her, though. I'd rather it be me than her."

"I know from experience that this doesn't help at all, but... I'm really sorry. You're a brave girl, Amber."

She managed a small, pained smile. "Thank you," she said. We sat in silence again for a few moments, before she spoke up again.

"Natara?" she started, gaining my attention.

"Yes?" I answered.

"May I... ask you something?" she asked.

"Of course," I said with a sad smile.

"Can you... help me?" she questioned, voice breaking again. "I can't do this any more, any of it. I need help. Especially with Brooke now. Please." Tears streamed down her face again, and I felt tears in my own eyes, too.

"Of course," I said again, softer this time and eyes watering. "Mal and I will do everything we can."


	12. Chapter 12: Temporary Solutions

**Hey, guys! I suck at updating this story, I know. I don't really have an excuse; I just got a mixture of writer's block and laziness. But a wonderful idea struck me at about three AM a few days ago, so I wrote it all down. **

**Also, I just noticed now that I have a continuity/time error, though the rest of you probably haven't noticed. I went back through the previous chapters and the last few of _Crashing In__, _and it should technically be August right now. But I mentioned Amber 'finishing up her junior year', which would mean it would have to be back a few months. However, that wouldn't make a whole lot of sense, since I technically had Halia born in early-February-ish. But it's all so messy at this point, we're just going to screw it all and say that it's mid-May. Also, I'm about ninety-nine percent sure that the only one who noticed this was me, so I'l just shut up now.**

**Review replies, yay!**

_**The Beautiful Filth - Thank you, Christie! Yeah, I had thought about having Blaise and Jeremy check it out, and then they would call Mal and Nat after, but I decided I wanted Mal and Nat to see what was going on, so I had them be there instead. Thanks so much, though! You're so sweet! c:**_

_**NiekaWow - Thanks a ton, Nieka! I'm glad it's drawing emotion! **_

_**mozzi-girl - Thank you, Molly! Hope you enjoy this next one. c:**_

_**Guest (Annie) - Thanks, Annie! I'm really happy that you like it!**_

_**HopelessRomantic1994 - Thanks, Jade! If by 'update soon' you meant two months later, I have succeeded. xD**_

**Oh, and warning: This chapter is pretty dark, as it's dealing with some of Amber's emotions towards her abusive mother. There's some back=story here, too; but as I said, it's kinda dark. Just a heads up!**

**Alright, that's enough of my babbling. Enjoy, and please review!**

* * *

Chapter Twelve - Temporary Solutions

Mal and I sat tensely inside of Ander's office. I had just returned from calling Neha and explaining the situation, instructing her to put Halia to bed; we'd be out for most of the night.

A still-crying Amber and her confused younger sister, Brooke, sat just outside on two padded chairs. Brooke asked questions every now and then, but Amber wouldn't answer, further upsetting her sister. Blaise and Jeremy were keeping a gentle eye on them for the time, which we were grateful for; we needed to figure out what we would do with them. According to the records we pulled up, Amber wouldn't be eighteen for another few months, and could therefore not legally live on her own. I doubted she would be in any emotional or financial state to do so, anyways. She had a few relatives, though none that were close. The closest was a grandmother who lived in Cañon City, Colorado; that was nearly thirteen-hundred miles away. Plus, the woman was seventy-four and in a nursing home; she wasn't really in any physical state to even take care of herself, let alone two other people.

"What the hell are we going to do about them?" Mal asked, tiredly sipping a cup of coffee. It was nearly two in the morning at that point, but we still had a large matter on our hands.

Anders sighed heavily and rubbed his temples. "Honestly," he started, "I have no idea. The girl's still seventeen, they have no relatives nearby, and their parents left them with very little money. I hate to say it, but right now, it looks like the only option is foster care."

Mal and I exchanged a sad look. "May we talk to them about it?" Mal asked.

"Of course," Anders replied with the same hint of sadness. He was probably thinking of his own son.

We nodded and stood up, briefly stretching before opening the door. Outside the office, Brooke had fallen asleep slumped over in one of the chairs. Amber was awake, but barely; she stared blankly at a wall, a half-empty bottle of water in her hand.

"Amber?" Mal called, causing her to look up with a slight start. "We'd like to talk to you."

She nodded, straightening up slightly. "Okay," she said, "But can we go somewhere else? I don't want Brooke to hear anything. Not yet."

I glanced at Brooke. Her small frame moved up and down slightly as she breathed, a peaceful, innocent look on her face. I immediately nodded. "Of course," I replied with a gentle smile.

Mal and I led Amber outside to the front steps. Amber joined us and leaned against the railing of the stairs.

"What's this about?" she asked nervously.

Mal and I glanced at each other before he cleared his throat and began.

"Well, Amber," he started uncomfortably. "We've been reviewing options for where we can go from here, regarding you and Brooke. Right now, it's not looking good. You don't turn eighteen for several more months, right?"

She nodded. "Right," she answered quietly. "October third."

"We also searched our databases," he continued, "and found the closest relative of yours is a grandmother in Cañon City, Colorado. Do you know if that's accurate?"

"Yeah, it is," she said. "I've met her a few times, but only one of which that I remember. It was a few years ago, I think, when we drove over there for Christmas. She's in a nursing home."

"Okay," Mal sighed. He looked at me in defeat, but all I could do was nod for him to continue. He turned back to Amber.

"What?" she asked, a hint of fright trembling in her voice.

Mal took a deep breath before continuing. "Neither you nor your sister are eighteen yet, and you have no close, able relatives," he began.

"What does that mean?" Amber cut in, the fear in her voice rising.

"Well, frankly..." he started, trailing off. He looked over at me again, and I could see the uncertainty in his eyes.

"It means that there aren't a lot of options, Amber," I said, taking over gently. Her eyes flitted to me. "I'm sorry, but right now, it looks like the only option will be foster care."

Amber's eyes widened with shock, and she was silent for a moment as she took it in. Mal flashed me a quick, thankful look, but his eyes were filled with sadness and worry, as were mine.

"No, you can't do that!" she suddenly blurted out in a pained tone, sitting up straight. "Please, no, anything but that." She eyes filled with tears, but she struggled to hold them back by biting her lip.

"I'm really sorry, Amber," I apologized, genuinely saddened. "But we don't feel that there are any other appropriate opt–"

"Please, no," she cut in again, her eyes desperately glistening. "Please, don't do this to us. Brooke and I have already been through so much. Please, I don't want this for her. I–"

"Amber," I interrupted firmly. "I'm afraid I don't see the issue with Brooke here. You'll still be togeth–"

"No, please listen," she begged. "You don't understand. I know how that stuff works. My friend was in it. She had two younger siblings, a brother and a sister, and nobody wanted all three. They split them up. They live in totally different parts of the country now, and she hasn't seen either of them since. Nobody's going to want a traumatized teenager and a little girl who had to grow up too fast. They'll _separate_ us," she added, a shudder in her voice.

By then, tears were streaming down her face, and she struggled to speak. Mal and I both sat staring at her with wide, sad eyes.

"Please," she nearly whispered, "Brooke is all I have left. Please, please don't let them take her from me. I've spent ten years of my life with Brooke's well-being as my main focus. She's been my drive, the reason I haven't given up. If she's gone, I'll have nothing left to live for. Please_..."_

She trailed off, and, giving up, collapsed back against the railing again. I felt a stabbing pain in my chest as I realized something.

She pressed her hand, which was covered by her sweatshirt sleeve, against her mouth, trying desperately to stop her tears. Her attempts were to no avail, though, because she quickly turned around, leaned her arms against the railing and started crying again. Her sobs echoed painfully through the otherwise-quiet night sky.

Mal and I just stood there wordlessly as we exchanged helpless looks with each other. I soon walked over to her side and slid my arm around her, giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze. She didn't stand up straight, but she leaned into me slightly and wiped her eyes with her sweat shirt sleeve. I felt her thin frame shake, despite her best efforts. Mal walked over, stood on the other side of her, and gave her an awkward pat on the back. She smiled slightly in acknowledgement.

After a couple minutes, Amber quieted down, and I cleared my throat, hoping to gain Mal's attention. He glanced up, and I motioned with my head towards the building, indicating that I wanted to talk. He nodded back.

"We'll be right back, alright?" I told Amber gently, giving her shoulders a squeeze before letting go.

She nodded and wiped her eyes. "Okay."

Mal also squeezed her hand before letting go and turning towards me. He gently took my arm and led me around the corner.

"You're probably going to think this sounds crazy," I murmured in quiet tones, "but what would you think if we let Amber and Brooke stay with us for a while? Just a few weeks, or until we can get something sorted out. I... I can't do that to them. I just... can't."

Mal took one of my hands and squeezed it reassuringly. "I... was actually thinking the same thing," he admitted, and I let out a relieved sigh.

"We should probably clear it with Anders first, though," Mal advised.

I nodded. "Right."

He led me back around to the front steps. Amber had moved from the railing to the wall. She leaned against it, her tired eyes staring off into the distance. "We'll be right back," I said gently as we walked past her. She managed a weak nod and 'okay', but nothing more.

"We have a proposition," Mal announced after walking back inside and seating ourselves in front of Anders' desk again.

"Something other than foster care?" he asked. We nodded. "I'm all ears, then."

I quickly explained. "It would only be until we can figure something else out," I added, "but Mal and I have the space, and we don't mind. Plus, we're right down the road, so she can finish up her junior year in the same school, at least."

Anders thought it over carefully. "Yes, I don't see why that would be a problem. If you're sure you don't mind."

We thanked Anders profusely, then left the office. Brooke was still asleep in the chair, and Blaise and Jeremy were talking in hushed tones.

"Figure anything out?" Blaise asked quietly. Jeremy looked up, too.

"Short-term, yes," Mal said.

"She can stay with us for at least a few weeks," I explained, "Until summer break, anyways. At least she'll be able to finish up the school year."

They both nodded approvingly. "I'm glad something worked out for now," Jeremy said earnestly.

"Me too," I admitted.

"I think we've found an alternative to foster care for now," Mal announced as we stepped outside again. Amber was now leaning against the building staring off into the distance. Her eyes snapped up and focused on us.

"What?" she asked, excitement clear in her voice.

"If you'd like," I began, "You and Brooke can stay with us for a while, if you'd like that. At least until you can finish up the school-year, anyways. We'll still have to look for a more permanent solution, but at least it will buy us some time."

Amber was silent for a moment and I could almost hear the gears going in her head, processing what I'd just said. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and a smile spread across her face.

"Really?" she asked excitedly, relief clear in her voice. "That would be really great, thank you so much." Catching us both off-guard, she sprang up to hug first me, then Mal. We both laughed as we hugged her back.

"You're welcome," I said with a smile.

"It's the least we could do," added Mal.

"Did you tell Brooke yet?" she asked.

"No, she was still sleeping last time I checked," I replied. "Plus, we figured you might want to tell her yourself."

"Thank you so much," she repeated with a broad grin.

"Of course," Mal smiled. We stepped aside as Amber excitedly went back inside to wake Brooke up. Mal stepped up beside me and slid his arm around my waist. I leaned against his shoulder, and we stood there silently, looking out over the fairly-empty streets of San Francisco.

"I need more coffee," Mal said suddenly, interrupting the silence.

I laughed. "So do I." Mal opened the precinct door for me as we walked back inside. I thanked him with a kiss on the cheek, then grabbed his hand and led him inside. We quickly dropped hands when we saw that Anders was waiting for us.

I was about to ask if there was anything else he needed us to do, but Anders took one look at us and spoke first.

"Fallons," he called before I could say anything. "Get the hell home. You've both had a long enough day. I'm giving you a couple days off. Catch up on some rest, and do what you need to do for the girls."

I quietly let out a sigh of relief I didn't know I'd been holding. "Thank you, sir," Mal and I both said. Anders simply nodded, then retreated to his office.

Mal and I walked over to where Amber was quietly talking to Brooke.

"That's them, right there," Amber told a sleepy-looking Brooke. Brooke glanced up at us and offered a small, timid smile before ducking behind Amber. Amber laughed lightly as Brooke peeked out from behind her and stared up at us.

"Hi, Brooke," I greeted softly, crouching down to her level. Mal followed. "I'm Natara," I continued with a smile, "and this is Mal. Would you mind staying with us for a few weeks?"

Brooke shook her head, smiled shyly, then quickly hid behind her sister again.

"Alright," I said with a chuckle, standing up. I was about to suggest heading back to our place, when I remembered that we don't exactly have the required fundamentals to house any child older than seven months old. I pulled Amber aside, then proceeded hesitantly. "You two might want to get some of your things in a suitcase... Clothes and any personal belongings you'd like to keep. I'm not really sure what will happen with your house, so I would grab what you want."

Amber's face drained of color. "I have to go back in there, don't I," she muttered with dread.

"I'm sorry," I quickly said, feeling bad.

"Brooke's _not_ going in, though," she resolved firmly after a split-second. "I'll get her stuff; I know what she likes."

I nodded, and we stood in silence for a moment.

"God," Amber suddenly muttered with a slight shiver. "I do _not _want to go in there again."

I smiled sympathetically. "Things will be a little more... cleaned up... by this point, but the whole place is technically a crime scene. If everything you need is in your bedroom, you should be able to evade the... mess." She just nodded. "But if it makes you feel any better, I'll come in with you," I added.

"Thank you," she sighed with a grateful smile.

"Sure," I replied, smiling back.

Suddenly, I heard Mal call my name, and I turned around.

"Is everything settled for now?" Mal asked softly.

I nodded. "We'll take them both back to our house, and if you don't mind, I'll drive Amber over to her place to get some of their things."

"That's fine," Mal said, suppressing a yawn.

"You doing alright?" I asked, noticing the fatigue in his eyes.

"Yeah," he replied, "Just exhausted. How 'bout you?"

"I'm fine," I replied, also suppressing a yawn. "Same."

"Well," he started, tossing his empty coffee cup in the trash. "I suppose we can get going, then."

Amber helped a half-sleeping Brooke out to Mal's car. I slid in the passenger side as Amber and Brooke collapsed into the back. We drove the fifteen minutes home in exhausted silence, and I fell asleep several times. I was drifting off again when the sound of a blaring horn startled me into consciousness. Mal cursed as he swerved out of the path of an oncoming car, which, if I may mention, clearly had the right-of-way.

"Mal," I murmured, still half-asleep. "Try not to get us in an accident on the way home, 'kay?"

"Trying not to," he muttered back in tired irritation. After a few moments of silence, Mal said, "I need some damn coffee."

"So do I," I replied with a tired laugh. Mal pulled up to a Starbucks drive-through.

"Want anything?" I asked Amber.

She shook her head. "No thanks," she replied. "I don't drink coffee." I just nodded as Mal ordered our usuals, then pulled around to the next window.

Sipping our drinks, we finally pulled into our driveway, and we all stumbled out of the car. Mal gently picked up a now-fast-asleep Brooke and brought her inside while I grabbed my keys from my purse and switched to my car.

"Okay," I said, a little more awake from the caffeine. "Ready?"

Amber nodded.

I blindly shoved the keys into the ignition, noticing with exhaustion that it was so 'late', that is was technically early. It was nearly four in the morning, and the sun was just barely starting to peak over the horizon. Those who went to work early would be waking up at this time.

I yawned as I pulled the car into Amber's driveway. We ducked under the yellow police tape as we entered the yard. The door was open, and police still buzzed around inside. Amber visibly tensed as we approached the door.

"You alright?" I asked warily.

She shook her head. "No, but let's just get this over with." I squeezed her shoulder in reassurance, then walked in behind her. She quickly ducked her head and skirted the area as she headed for the stairs. She just about ran up them, and didn't stop until she was safely within her bedroom. I stepped in after her and leaned slightly against the wall as Amber fished out a suitcase from within her closet. I glanced around, immediately noticing how neat and tidy her room was.

I watched silently as she pulled random articles of clothing from her closet and drawers, loosely folding them before placing them in the suitcase. I searched for something to make conversation about, but I came up blank. I then looked up and noticed a fancy-looking, light blue dress hanging on her closet door. It looked like it was for prom or another type of formal.

"Pretty dress," I commented, deciding that, for whatever reason, would be a decent conversation point. "Prom attire?" Pretty much everyone I knew who went to prom seemed to have some sort of fun stories to share afterwards. I'd never gone myself, so I didn't really know what to ask. But maybe it would cheer her up a little.

Amber glanced up at it and winced slightly.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Thanks," she muttered. I must have given her a questioning look, because she continued. "That was... I didn't really end up going."

"Oh," I said, wishing I hadn't brought it up. I was slightly curious as to why she didn't go, but I didn't want to ask about it. She continued before I could say anything, though.

"My date kind of, uh, ditched me at the last minute," she explained flatly. "He called me to cancel literally half an hour before I was expecting him to pick me up, and from the sounds of it, he was, uh, rather drunk and having some fun with some other girl while on the phone with me."

"Ouch," I muttered sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

She shrugged. "Whatever. He's a douche bag, anyways. I only agreed to go with him because I didn't think anyone else would ask."

She reminded me of myself in that statement, but I shook the thought away. She finished shoving a few more articles of clothing into her suitcase before zipping it shut. She grabbed her purse and shoved a rather large make-up bag into it. She half-heartedly shoved a few other items into it, and was about to turn away when she spotted something on her bed-side table that made her stop in her tracks. She set the purse down on the floor and slowly picked up a framed picture. Tears immediately sprang to her eyes, and a million emotions seemed to flash through them. She quickly set it down, blinking back tears as she perched on the side of the bed. I looked over at her in silent concern, and she met my gaze.

"She wasn't always so mean," she murmured quietly, almost inaudibly. She reached out and gingerly picked up the picture again. I crossed the room and gently took a seat beside her. She handed me the picture, and I looked down at it. It was a framed photograph of her, Brooke, their mother, and a man who I assumed to be their biological father. Brooke was just a toddler in the picture, and Amber appeared to be nine or ten. They were all smiling, arms around each other. Even through the photograph, I could see the affection towards each other in their eyes. I smiled sadly and handed it back.

"This was before things got... bad," she continued softly, staring down at the object in her hand. Mom found out she was pregnant with a little boy. That was always her dream, I guess. A few months after she found out, dad... was killed in a car accident just outside our house. I was sleeping over at a friend's house, and Brooke was inside sleeping; but Mom saw it all. It was late on a Friday night, and Mom sent him out to the store to buy something or other... I think it was milk and eggs." She paused for a moment, lightly tracing her finger along the edge of the frame. "Anyways," she continued, "he was hit by a moving truck. Killed him instantly." She paused again and swallowed hard. "The moving truck guy was completely wasted. My friend's parents drove me home at, like, three in the morning after they told me the news, and I... I walked inside and found her passed out on the kitchen floor with a nearly-empty bottle of some kind of pills spilled on the ground. I guess I didn't think to call nine-one-one, because I just ran outside and screamed for my neighbor to come help me." She stopped suddenly, wiping her eyes with her sweatshirt sleeve. "She had tried to... commit suicide, but I guess whatever she took wasn't enough... She ended up being relatively fine, but she... Lost the baby. That's when it started going downhill. She blamed me for everything... It wasn't that bad for a while, but when I was about eleven, she started drinking a ton and dating a ton of weird guys... The first time she hit me was when I was twelve. She was drunk out of her mind... I was hiding behind the couch as I watched her boyfriend at the time beat her, and when he finally left... She went after me."

She paused again, longer this time. So I took the opportunity to ask, "But she never hit Brooke?"

Amber shook her head. "Nope, never touched her. It wasn't like she adored her, either, but she definitely liked her better than me. She's hated me for the past seven years. I'm really glad she never went after Brooke, though. Better me than her. I just... She spent seven damn years blaming me for everything. She said I should've come home earlier, and maybe I could've saved the baby." Her eyes suddenly filled with rage. "She never cared about me at all," she growled, voice rising. "Never wanted to talk... Wouldn't even pay for the damn prom dress that I never even wore outside of this hell-hole." Tears began to spill over onto her cheeks as her voice continued to rise. "Hell, she was so surprised someone even asked me in the first place, that she fell out of her chair laughing when I told her. She cared more about her stupid boyfriends and alcohol than she _ever_ did about Brooke or I. I worked, like, three different jobs, but she just took most of the paychecks to buy booze or drugs. Only thing she ever bought me was make-up, which was usually followed by an insult." I listened sadly as she continued, becoming more and more angry every passing second. "And do you know what the hell she said to me the other day? Never mind, I'll show you," she spat angrily, pulling out her cell phone and going into her voicemails. I wasn't sure I really wanted to hear this, but I wasn't about to try to interrupt, either. She turned it on speakerphone, and her mother's voice filled the room.

"Hey, dumbass," she greeted harshly. I winced. "I see you got a B-plus on your Calc test. You and I need to have a little _talk_ when you get home, missy. I bought you some more make-up, too. Maybe if you use enough, you won't be so ugly." She laughed a mean, gruff laugh, then continued. "Oh, and pick up something for dinner for you and your sister. McDonalds, grocery store, whatever. Though I highly suggest you don't eat anything. There's a treadmill downstairs for ya' instead, fatass," she sneered, laughing loudly again. I glanced up at Amber, who was gritting her teeth hard, anger burning in her eyes and tears sliding down her face. Just then did I realize how small she actually was. I'd always noticed she was small, but I guess I never noticed _how_ small. "Get your ass home soon, or I'll make sure you know not to be late again." she finished menacingly. The phone beeped, signifying the end of the voicemail. Amber tossed her phone down on her bed in pure anger.

"See? The woman never gave a single crap about me. She didn't care; nobody does. She spent nearly half of my life constantly reminding me of my flaws and everything that was wrong with me. All of those things she said, and about a thousand more. I hate her; I effing hate her! I give up! I just... Gahh!" With an angry yell, she chucked the picture frame towards the wall. It slammed against her dresser, causing me to jump in surprise. The impact shattered the front and sent shards of glass flying everywhere. Ignoring the tears continuing to stream down her face, she picked up a tattered notebook and slung it at the ground. It fell open to a page where she had messily scribbled words. I glanced down and read a few of them before I had to look away. 'Stupid', 'ugly', 'worthless', 'fat', and 'guilty' were just a few of the horrible words she had scrawled down. With a shaky sob, she reached for something else breakable to throw.

I suddenly stood up from where I was sitting. I couldn't just sit there and watch her rage self-hate without doing something; she was going to hurt herself if she kept it up. I could not even _begin _to imagine how in _hell_ a mother could say that to her own daughter. Hell, how could _anyone _say things like that to _anyone_? You have no idea how much I would do just to get one more minute with Madi. I also couldn't even begin to imagine how she felt. From the sounds of it, she never stood up for herself; she took it. She just stood and took all of the horrible words slung at her, and the worst part is that she believed them all. Sure, I had dealt with bullies and such in high school, and I'd had phrases thrown at me that had stung. But not that horrid, and _definitely _not by my own mother.

I slowly took a step towards her. She was facing away from me at that point, but I could see and hear her uneven breathing, each inhale and exhale shaky and filled with pain and anger.

"Amber," I called gently, not wanting to startle her.

She said nothing and continued to reach for a glass figurine on her desk.

"Amber," I said more forcefully as she picked it up.

Still no answer.

"Amber!" I finally exclaimed, nearly shouting. She stopped just short of throwing the object, but didn't turn towards me. She slowly dropped her arm, breathing hard. I walked up to her and gently turned her to face me. I slowly pried the object from her shaking hand, and she let me. I lightly grabbed her hands, and I met her watery gaze. The intense anger that previously possessed her being ebbed away, and the hatred in her tired, green eyes faded out to hopeless hurt and pain. Her gaze quickly flitted away as she blinked tears from her eyes.

"Amber," I began again, softer this time. She looked up again, and this time held my gaze. "I'm so sorry all of that happened. I truly am. You don't deserve that kind of treatment, and she had no right to make you feel like that. Whatever your mom told you that you were or were not," I continued firmly, "is not true. She fed you lies that she wanted you to believe. You're not dumb or worthless or any of those things she called you. What happened with your mother and the baby is terrible, but none of it is your fault. You had no way of knowing, and you couldn't have done a damn thing to prevent it, even if you had known." I paused again as she started bawling, letting go of one of my hands and trying to cover her face with her hair. I reached out and gently pulled it back down, forcing eye contact again.

I continued in an even gentler tone and steadily hold her tearful gaze. "You're beautiful, Amber," I stated sincerely, "and I know for a fact that there are people who care about you. Your mom should have been one of them, granted, but Brooke loves you so much. Mal and I care about both of you, and so do others in the precinct. Your friends care, and even though your Grandma can't physically take care of you, she cares, too. You're honestly one of the strongest people I've ever met; not many people could go through the hell you've lived with and come out alive. You've made it this far, Amber; don't you _dare_ give up now. You're not alone in this."

She yanked her hands free of mine and covered her face, sinking to her knees as sobs wracked her body. I knelt down beside her, and though I usually tend to shy away from physical contact, I wrapped her in a tight hug. She immediately hugged back, sobbing loudly into my shirt as I gently rubbed her back.

From her reaction, I sadly realized that she probably hadn't been reminded of those things often enough. Or if she had, her mother had so fiercely drilled all the negative thoughts into her, that she wouldn't believe anything else.

"Shh," I soothed softly, unsure of what else to say. "You'll be okay... You'll be fine..."

After a couple minutes, she pulled back and wiped her eyes, smearing both sleeves with thick make-up.

"Thank you," she choked after another moment. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," I replied quietly, flashing a small, sad, smile.

Confirming my previous fears, she choked, "N-Nobody's ever t-told me that be... before..."

I smiled sadly and took one of her tear-soaked hands. "You're a real fighter, Amber," I told her, giving it a gentle squeeze. She weakly squeezed back. "And Mal and I will do whatever we can during the next few weeks to help you and your sister."

She smiled genuinely at me through a cascade of tears.

"T-Thank you," she managed shakily, giving up on wiping her eyes.

I sat with her on the floor for another few minutes, occasionally giving her hand a comforting squeeze as her tears slowed down.

Once she had been quiet for a few minutes, I stood up and gently helped pull her up. She wiped her eyes again and took a deep breath.

"Guess I should get Brooke's stuff now," she finally managed in a slightly-raspy voice.

"You don't want anything else for now?" I asked, slightly surprised as I glanced at her mostly-full dresser tops.

She shook her head. "No," she replied. "It's just stuff. It's pretty much all crap, anyways; it's not important." She picked up the purse she had set on the floor, then, as if remembering something, set it back down. She pulled out the large bag of make-up, extracted a couple mascaras, an eyeliner pencil, and one bottle of foundation, then chucked the rest of the bag back onto her bed.

"I don't want that crap," she announced, turning away from it and dropping the few things she'd kept into her purse again.

I smiled at her. "Good for you," I told her sincerely. She smiled back.

We were about to exit the room, when she stopped suddenly. "Oh, crap," she muttered as she looked down at the back pack that I assumed was for school. "I suppose I should take that." She shoved the purse into the backpack, zipped it, then slung it over one shoulder. I picked up her suitcase for her as we crossed the hallway to Brooke's room. We left both bags in the hallway as we stepped in the door. Amber fished out a similar-looking suitcase from Brooke's closet, tossed some clothes and a couple stuffed animals in, then zipped the bag. She glanced around before adding a full-looking sketchbook to the front pouch.

"That should be about it," she announced as she set the bag down on the floor. I nodded and we went back into the hallway. Amber slung the backpack over her shoulder again and grabbed Brooke's suitcase in one hand. I picked up hers for her, and we quickly descended down the stairs, scurrying quickly past the entry-way and clear of the still-gory scene. We tossed everything in the trunk of the car, and I drove us around a couple blocks, back to Mal and I's place. I park the car in the driveway and tiredly yank out the keys. I pop the trunk open, and we both go around to collect the bags.

Before either of us grabs anything, Amber says my name.

"Yes?" I answered softly.

"Thank you," she said with a sincere smile. "For everything." Then, with hardly a second of hesitation, she steps in and hugs me.

"You're welcome, sweetie," I replied, hugging her back. We both pull away and pick up the bags, then tiredly dragged them inside.

I found Mal dozing at the kitchen table with a now-cold pot of coffee next to him. Brooke was fast asleep on the couch, wearing one of my old shirts and wrapped in a warm blanket. I set down the bags, and, though I hated to do so, gently prodded Mal awake.

"Oh, hey, Nat," he murmured drowsily. "Find everything?" he asked, a bit more alert.

I nodded. "Neha go home?"

"Yeah, I told her she could leave. Halia's been down for hours, and she was basically falling asleep standing up. She asked what happened, but I told her you'd catch up with her soon"

I nodded again. "I'll give her a call tomorrow. Well, later today, I guess."

He stood up, then motioned for me to come closer. He leaned in and whispered in my ear. I heard Amber leave the room, granting us privacy.

"I didn't know where you wanted them to sleep, and by the time I got around to thinking about it, she was already sleeping like a rock on the couch, so I left her. Did you want them in... Madi's room, or...?" he asked with hesitation.

"Well, I... I guess I never really thought about it," I admitted in a hushed voice. "I was just trying to get them out of... the foster care situation for now. But I... Well, yeah. Madi's room, then. The basement isn't finished, and it's rather cold down there. But then her stuff needs to be moved, and..." I trailed off.

"I know," he replied softly. "That's why I wasn't sure. Is that what you want? I highly doubt they'd complain about the basement, and I really don't think they'd want to sleep in that really small back room with Halia. It was technically designed to be a laundry room." We hadn't felt ready to clear out Madi's stuff when Halia was born, so we decided to move the washer and drier down to the basement, and make Halia's room there for the time being.

I shrugged noncommittally and looked away. "But Nat?" he called, gaining my attention again.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"We're going to have to clean out that room eventually, you know. Whether they stay in it now or not, Halia's going to get older and need more space. I am_ not_ going to try to put up with a teenager in that small of a room." I laughed at that. "We can't hold on that hard forever, Nat," he reminded me gently.

"I know," I replied quietly, looking down. "Tomorrow," I promised. "We can do it tomorrow."

Mal nodded, then pulled me into a strong hug.

"Doing alright?" he asked as he pulled away. I nodded, feeling the buzz of caffeine from earlier quickly fading. "I'm alright," I replied, "but I'm about ready to fall over. How are you?"

"About the same," he laughed lightly, motioning towards the coffee on the table. I laughed again.

I followed Mal out of the kitchen and into the living room again, where we found Amber asleep on the couch next to Brooke.

"Well, that solves that for tonight," I laughed quietly.

"Good," Mal replied tiredly. "Let's go to bed."

"Sounds wonderful," I sighed, taking Mal's hand and letting him lead me into our room. We barely had the energy to change before we both collapsed into bed, exhausted from the day. And night. And partial day again.

Mal pulled me closer to his side, and we were asleep within minutes.


End file.
